GRADE: A +
Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, B.J. Novak
Written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith
Directed by John Lee Hancock
In London, 1961, Pamela "PL" Travers (Emma Thompson), struggling financially, has reluctantly agreed to travel to Los Angeles, to meet and negotiate with with a movie mogul who has been pursuing the rights to her books for some time. But this isn't just any movie mogul, and these aren't just any books: the man Pamela is so loathe to meet with is Walt Disney (Tom Hanks), and the main character of her writing is an English nanny named Mary Poppins.
Disney has been courting Travers for twenty years, after his daughters fell in love with her books, and made him promise to make a film based on them. Travers, however, has been extremely cool toward letting Disney bring her creation to the screen, mainly because he is primarily known as a producer of animated films.
Through flashbacks, Travers’ youth in Australiain 1906 is depicted, and shown to be the inspiration for much of Mary Poppins. Travers’ handsome and charismatic father, fighting a losing battle against alcoholism, was very close to Travers, whom he nicknamed Ginty.
Upon her arrival in Los Angeles, Travers is disgusted by what she feels is the city’s unreality, as well as by the naïve optimism and intrusive friendliness of its inhabitants. At the studio, things get worse when she begins collaborating with the creative team assigned to develop Mary Poppins for the screen. she clashes with the creative team from the outset, and her meetings with Walt himself are about as smooth as a gravel road. Determined to make this film, Disney engages in and endless debate of give and take with Travers, with Walt doing most of the giving (ostensibly, at least) and Pamela doing most of the taking. In time, her relationship with the creative team improves, and progress seems to be being made. Will this movie get made after all?
Obviosuly, we know the answer to that question, but that's not the point. In fact, it's not even about the entertainment value in getting there. In the end, Saving Mr. Banks is about life, creative inspiration, family relationships, and reconciling our most cherished and most painful memories. It's about fixing things through fiction. it's about saving someone who doesn't even know he needs to be saved.
Emma Thompson is luminous as Travers, somehow making every tantrum and moment up impious stubbornness as endearing as it is irritating, because she makes us feel her love for and dependence on Mary Poppins. Tom Hanks shines as the man behind the mouse, giving a wonderfully understated performance that relies less on impersonation than it does on sincerity. B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman make a great pair as the Sherman Brothers, who wrote the beloved music and lyrics for Mary Poppins and many other Disney classics, and Paul Giamatti nearly steals the whole thing as Travers' irrepressible limo driver. But perhaps the heart and soul of the film is Collin Farrell as Travers Goff, Pamela's thoroughly lovable and maddeningly irresponsible father. The tragedy of his story is made all the more poignant by the realization that he is his own worst enemy, and his undying love for his daughter and zest for life make him a glorious father, but his refusal to face any sense of reality and to leave the burden of holding the family together entirely upon his wife Margaret (Ruth Wilson) while he drinks and dreams makes him also a terrible father and even worse husband.
50 years later, Mary Poppins remains a masterpiece of fun and whimsy, but also of sadness, of loss, love, and ultimately of joy. Saving Mr. Banks is the perfect companion piece, and it is an instant classic that moved me beyond words.
Saving Mr. Banks is rated PG-13 for adult themes, smoking and some mild profanity.
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