Saving Mr. Banks

Biopic films are usually a mixed bag of emotions that can run from a slow crawl to a gallop going back a forth like a tennis match, so when I went to see "Saving Mr. Banks", this film was certainly no exception. Don't believe the trailer, because this film can get a bit dark in places which actually gives it more richness than an otherwise fluffy two-dimensional piece the trailer would have you believe.

When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins", he made them a promise--one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt (Tom Hanks) comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer, Travers (Emma Thompson) who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers--Richard and Robert (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak), Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author won't budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

Others to round out the cast are Annie Rose Buckley as Ginty, Colin Farrell as Travers Goff, Ruth Wilson as Margaret Goff, Paul Giamatti as Ralph, Bradley Whitford as Don DaGradi, screenwriter of "Mary Poppins", Lily Bigham as Biddy, Kathy Baker as Tommie, assistant of Disney, Melanie Paxson as Dolly, Andy McPhee as Mr. Belhatchett, Rachel Griffiths as Aunt Ellie, and Ronan Vibert as Diarmuid Russell.

This was directed by John Lee Hancock ("Hard Time Romance" '91, "The Rookie" '02, "The Alamo" '04, "The Blind Side" '09). This guy's ability to get his actors to emit emotions that run the gambit without them appearing unbalanced was simply amazing. And with his eclectic resume, he will not be allowed to be pigeon-holed. It was equally well written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. The way these writers were able to present this story going from the past to the present and back again to show correlation with past and present was incredibly well structured. This is a very difficult thing for a writer to lay out and not lose cohesiveness, but these two were able to pull it off with finesse and style. There were a couple of very small choppy areas, but not even enough to miss any continuity in storyline.

This was a moving, yet entertaining film with expertise acting we've all come to expect from Hanks, Thompson, Giamatti and Farrell, and all were outstanding. This is definitely a worthy film to view at this time of year or at any time.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                           Rated: PG-13                               125mins.