Saving Mr Banks is such a lovely film. Its a pity thus, that there were only six of us in the theatre. Based on the real-life interaction between the author of Mary Poppins PL Travers and Walt Disney, who had a tough time convincing her to give him the rights to the book, to make the film, there are parts of it which are fictionalised. Emma Thompson plays PL Travers, a difficult, cynical woman, whos also very sharp, demanding, with her set of vulnerabilities well-concealed. Tom Hanks plays the affable but determined Walt Disney, determined to procure the rights to make Mary Poppins, for a promise he made to his young daughters. Collin Farrel plays Travers Goff, father to young Helen Goff who grew up to adopt the pen-name PL Travers, as a tribute to a father she loved much, who in turn, let her down ways in ways, which only a weak parent can. However, thats not what this film is about - the making of Mary Poppins. Its about the burden of childhood pain that you never resolved; about parents who are too emotionally weak to give their children the necessary emotional tools to face the harsh realities of life; about children who are forced to grow up much before their time because they have parents who rely on them, when it should be the other way round. Director John Lee Hancock, not once loses control of his art as he makes the film effortlessly shuttle between Travers flashbacks of looking back on her life as a little girl, with her much loved father and present day, where she spends most of her time being curt, difficult, unappreciative and terribly lonely. Emma Thompson is top-notch and deserves every nomination she has received this year. Its not easy to steal Tom Hanks thunder, but she does, in every single frame, as the stiff Englishwoman, who unravels as the film progresses, under the pain she hasnt acknowledged in a long time. Tom Hanks is as usual, good. Collin Farrel is surprisingly sincere. Child artist Annie Rose Buckley who plays young Helen, deserves a special mention - she brings the necessary tenderness, innocence and pathos that makes up young Helens life. The period is captured beautifully. The film moves along at a breezy pace, peppered with lots of laughs and a few tears. Especially for Emma Thompsons bravura performance, go watch Saving Mr Banks.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Feb 2014 09:56:58 +0000
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