Saving Mr Banks (2013)
Certified: U
Duration: 125 minutes
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, B. J. Novak, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Melanie Paxson, Victoria Summer, Kristopher Kyer, Kathy Baker, Rachel Griffiths, Dendrie Taylor, Kimberly D’Armond
KRS release
Saving Mr Banks is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of the most popular and delightful films ever: 1964’s Mary Poppins. I am not usually much of a fan of these behind-the-scenes kind of movies, but Saving Mr Banks surprised me as it is a treasure trove of a story that I had not known and I left the screening with an added appreciation of the original film itself.
I (and I assume many others) had no idea of how the character of Mary Poppins, brought to the screen so wonderfully by Julie Andrews, was created.
P.L. Travers, who had written the Mary Poppins series of books, actually had a childhood that was worth representing on screen. Besides, she was very reluctant to have the series turned into a film and Saving Mr Banks goes into all that happened in order for Walter Disney to convince her to let his company adapt it for the big screen. This tug-of-war lasted over 20 years.
A film that can make you laugh and cry without seeming to make any effort
Disney, as played by Tom Hanks, is a charismatic figure, but the film carefully balances him out with Emma Thompson, who as Travers is an enigmatic and pivotal figure in the story. The picture focuses on a short period of time when Travers was taken to Disney Studios in the US and there Disney goes all out to get to know Travers and find ways of getting under her skin.
Saving Mr Banks benefits strongly from the direction of John Lee Hancock, who was behind the award-winning The Blind Side (2009). Hancock never overplays his hand and lets his actors do the work. His simple style is meant to have the audience concentrating on the two main characters and the story and the relationship that develops. It’s also interesting to see how Travers would insist on countless rearrangements, sometimes for the tiniest of details.
The film also offers varying facets to its main protagonists, especially Disney.
Hancock and writer Kelly Marcel provide a structure that focuses on Travers’s life yet brings into the story all the different aspects we know and love about Mary Poppins. The sections that focus on the author’s childhood are well laid out, with Colin Farrell stealing the show as her father.
When you get to know about Travers’s childhood, you realise why she was so reluctant to let her books be turned into a picture.
Saving Mr Banks should find its way on the Oscar nomination list with nods towards Thompson’s powerful performance and Hanks’s complementary approach.
Newman’s musical score is also another worthy mention as it skilfully combines the classic Mary Poppins themes into this film’s context.
All in all, it’s a film that can make you laugh and cry without seeming to make any effort, and can make you feel like you have become emotionally richer in the process of its viewing.