Saving Mr. Banks
Director: John Lee Hancock
Cast: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti
Length: 125 minutes
Country: USA
On the red carpet for Saving Mr. Banks, the much-anticipated film selected to close the London Film Festival, there appeared to be a running theme within every interview. Upon being asked why they chose to sign onto the film, every actor gave the same answer: the screenplay – written by newcomer Kelly Marcel (whose latest project is 50 Shades of Grey). Yet, amazingly, Saving Mr. Banks managed to score every first-choice actor for each lead role. By the first three minutes, it is easy to see why.
Saving Mr. Banks chronicles the encounters between Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), as the former desperately attempts to convince the latter to sign over the movie rights to her book, Mary Poppins. It might as well be said; if you haven’t experienced the joy of watching Mary Poppins, this film won’t deliver its full effect. As it begins, it immediately delivers an emotional punch to the gut – a piano ballad of ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’ wafts through the speakers and within a second you’re a child again. The film encourages a sense of youthfulness throughout: the humour is smart, warming and (thankfully) British, on several occasions causing an auditorium of adults to erupt into childish giggles.
The film encourages a sense of youthfulness throughout: the humour is smart, warming and (thankfully) British
Saving Mr. Banks is a Disney production, and as such there are perhaps several spoons of sugar heaped into the narrative to protect the Disney brand image, meaning this film shouldn’t be regarded as historically accurate. Because of this, Thompson’s performance is crucial. Her presence as the mean-spirited, snotty P.L. Travers prevents the film from becoming too sickly sweet. From the introduction of Hanks as Disney, arms spread wide in front of a cabinet of Oscars (which yes, felt like a little heavy-handed hinting), it’s clear that the Hanks/Thomas double-act is more than enough to carry the film through. Alongside them, Colin Farrell provides an astonishing turn as Travers’s alcohol-plagued father in a series of flashbacks, in what this writer would argue is his most impressive role to date. Paul Giamatti is another scene stealer as Travers’s cab driver, perhaps achieving the hardest task at all, turning what some actors would have performed as a horribly cliched backstory into a truly touching set of scenes.
Reading the film summary, one could be mistaken into believing that Marcel is juggling two key narratives, the negotiations between Travers and Disney, and Travers’s upbringing in Australia. This is not quite true. The songs of Mary Poppins are heavily featured in the film, but rather than taking the obvious route of subtly transforming it into background music, we have the pleasure of watching the Sherman brothers come up with the iconic tunes in the rehearsal room. Many of the songs are inspired by comments Travers makes during pre-production work on Poppins, but the moment Saving Mr. Banks evolves from a pleasant, nostalgic family feature into a real, emotionally compromising production is during the first performance of ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’. Without giving spoilers, the scene is reminiscent of ‘The Rain in Spain’ from My Fair Lady. Upon realising that tears were forming in my eyes, I sneaked a peak at the audience to see that they were equally moved; the old man beside me was openly weeping. To me, this is the true magic of Disney – their films resonate with people of all ages and backgrounds, and in the words of Disney himself, inspire hope in every one of us.
I could deliver endless praise for this film, but for now I would just advise you to pay attention to the visually stunning depictions of both Hollywood and Australia, alongside the wonderful use of Mickey Mouse iconography. I’m usually keen to find some level of fault in any film, but I genuinely could not think of one piece of substantial negative criticism. Perhaps Kelly Marcel’s 50 Shades will surprise us all.
Saving Mr. Banks releases nationwide on 29th November
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