Saving Mr. Banks
It's a small world after all.
Who would have guessed Walt Disney and "Mary Poppins" author P. L. Travers shared a quality that helped close the House of Mouse patriarch's two-decade-long negotiations to bring the popular nanny to life on the big screen?
What we get from this charming dramatization of Walt's dogged pursuit for movie rights is that while he's been able to move past a less-than-perfect relationship with his own dad, Travers is not. The head of her fictitious Banks family is a manifestation of her whimsical but alcoholic father (Colin Farrell, brilliantly), both of whom are flawed characters capable of redemption. On that she won't budge or permit trivialization.
Unfortunately, she's not convinced Disney's commercial eye sees the same story — it's not the children who need saving, it's Mr. Banks. That and her inability to confront her own past gives rise to preposterous stipulations. "There can be no red on the screen, anywhere, ever, at all," she says early on; and of casting Dick Van Dyke? "Oh, my! No, no, no!" (As if even the sound of it is something quite atrocious.)
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Walt's thick skin and persistence eventually win her over. In the process, we gain insight and an appreciation for what goes into the making of a classic.
Few actors have the gravitas for Walt Disney, who here is as protective of his mouse as she is of her nanny. Tom Hanks is one of them, delivering an Oscar-caliber performance. As for Emma Thompson, she plays Travers in a most delightful way — though not at first. She's a tough nut to crack, but chauffeur Paul Giamatti does a pretty good job trying.
Lots to like in "Saving Mr. Banks," the best film I've seen so far this year.
5 Honks
Nebraska
"You may have already won a million dollars," letters from Ed McMahon used to announce in the days of snail mail.
Rational people were skeptical, but characters like Bruce Dern's Woody Grant, in the father/son road film "Nebraska," don't read fine print.
So with proclamation in hand, Woody sets out for Lincoln, Neb., home of the promotion, to collect his booty.
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Will Forte comes along to look after his father but leaves his signature SNL humor behind in this touching tale from "The Descendants" director Alexander Payne (himself from Nebraska).
The pair make a stop in Woody's hometown, where locals are divided — some in awe that a native son made it big; a few, like his old business partner Stacy Keach, who claim he owes debts. "There's no money, it's a scam!" Forte repeats time and again to those who would rather believe otherwise.
It is a sales gimmick, of course, but Zen practitioners (and the writers of road trip movies) like to think it's about the journey and not the destination.
It is, and here this grainy black-and-white drama transcends the usual silliness with a solid cast that includes June Squibb and Bob Odenkirk.
4 Honks
Chris Miksanek is a Rochester freelance writer. Follow him on the Center Stage blog at PostBulletin.com .
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