Saving Mr. Banks - Rob

We all know, by this point, that Hanks is one of the greats. He plays well opposite men (Saving Private Ryan), he plays well opposite women (Meg Ryan, et al), and he plays well opposite himself. This year he showed significant range when, in separate instances, he was kidnapped by pirates and later when Ms. P.L. Travers refused to sell him the rights to her beloved Mary Poppins.

I saw Saving Mr. Banks with three generations of my family over Christmas. It's that kind of movie. Previous movies watched in the same setting with the same three generations include We Bought a Zoo and Stewart Little (we, too, have our range). A few people cried, I am told. I was moved more than once by Emma Thompson's navigation of an emotionless character. Hanks was, of course, Hanks. For that matter, Colin Farrell also delivered a solid, nuanced performance, as did the duo of Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak. In fact, the cast, rounded out by Bradley Whitford, who I also generally dig, and the adorable little girl who played the young PJ Travers, all delivered terrific performances. (I almost forgot to mention Paul Giamatti, who is always sublime as doesn't disappointed here!) Accents were probably right on. I feel that Hanks's version of Walt Disney was fascinating and probably also right on. All the pieces were there in spades. And I'm sure this film will get some nods for best actor/actress as any good bio-pic usually does.

But, despite all that, the magic wasn't there. The film was just ok. Not one that I'll watch again, not one that I would necessarily recommend in a month with so many good movies playing. The film has a happy ending because it must, because it's a family movie that you see at Christmastime, and no one wants to see that Travers actually hated the film version of her book. I wish the movie had been more imaginative. Maybe what I really would like to see is a documentary about how Mary Poppins came together--its script, songs, illustrations, and effects.  Instead, the movie is probably a realistic view of Travers's story--girl with adoring alcoholic father grows up too fast and loses the imaginative power he instilled in her. It just seems a bit tired…I mean, what makes Mary Poppins great is what makes all movies great. This one, for all its strengths, just didn't get there.