★★★★★
Lloyd Vogel, a jaded investigative journalist is assigned to profile children's television host Mister Rogers. Cynical about his good nature, Vogel doubts Rogers' authenticity but finds himself reconciling with his painful past as a result of meeting America's favourite neighbour.
Classification: PG
It's been a rough month.
Not just for me but for all of us in our own ways, we all have problems that we're trying to survive through and then we turn on the news and we just feel the world is falling apart. This January has brought us threats of war in the middle east, a possible global epidemic, tragic deaths of celebrities and loved ones, world leaders facing corruption charges and I'm sure more curveballs are coming our way to pelt us in the skull before the day is up. It's so easy to give up, to submit to the cynicism and assume the worst, to accept that this horrible world isn't going to get any better so why should we keep going when everything feels lost. It's times like these we need a reminder of how we can all heal, be better, conquer our fears and hate, stand tall and be reminded of the good in this world. Cinema has made a trend of supplying us with grandiose heroes, men and women in costume who punch the bad guy and save the day but it's a fantasy, a world we wish we could live in. We don't live in a world of heroes in capes but with Marielle Heller's film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, we are shown that the heroes of our world are all around us, in our families, our friends and maybe most importantly in our neighbours.
The film tells the story of the impact on America's most beloved neighbour. Fred Rogers is a man who will always live above us, he was considered a modern saint, a man who with his kindness, grace and love for everyone made him seem angelic as if he were an anomaly among men. He was a children's television host on public television who taught lessons of emotional support and empathy in America and his message ruminated in the souls of millions. In times like these, it would seem everyone needs Mister Rogers again but the beauty of Heller's film and Tom Hanks performance is showing that the deification of Rogers' blinds us to the fact that we too can be better. This film is not a biopic about Fred Rogers but rather his legacy and impact on those around him, the screenplay adapted from an Esquire article entitled "Can you say... Hero?" by journalist Tom Junod tells the story of a cynical, jaded man meeting Rogers and confronting his own flaws as a result of Rogers' influence. Having the film revolve around Matthew Rhys' Lloyd Vogel, a classic acerbic reporter who like many of us just sees the worst in everything is a stroke of genius, we don't connect to the film through Rogers' optimism but through Lloyd's cynicism making his journey of emotional healing our own. Biopics tend to depict their subjects as fallible, to show the broken emotion and backstory which forged their iconic reputation. Rogers again is a figure removed from such emotional controversy and conflict; we don't see him as one of us, he's better than us but the beauty of Heller's film is that through Lloyd's journey we realise that Rogers is just a man, not a man with dark secrets or hidden vices but a man who feels heartache and pain just like the rest of us. Mister Rogers is not above us on any pedestal, he's right next to us, like any good neighbour. He does not see himself as greater, he sees the Vogels and everyone around him as friends, as equals. He sees the best in people because he truly believes that everyone is special and that everyone has value with that optimism being what saves Lloyd Vogel from himself.
However, what makes this film such a life-affirming experience is that Rogers' "perfection" is a result of his perseverance for kindness, education and confronting the negativity within us all, something that the film makes clear we can all achieve. Lloyd Vogel is a man who sees Rogers as a front, a "character" that there is no authenticity to the act and doesn't want his profile to be a puff piece. Every interaction and interview Lloyd has with Rogers completely throws him off guard, desperately trying to catch Rogers in a moment of insincerity but each time is confronted with his own emotional trauma within his own family. Lloyd's strained relationship with his father Jerry Vogel played by the incredible Chris Cooper is the dramatic backbone of the film. These subconscious fears of Lloyd failing as a father to his newborn son, his emotional dissociation informing a lot of the film's more surreal and dramatic scenes. Rogers' genuine curiosity has Lloyd slowly reveal these details to the man in their brief meetings but while Lloyd initially suspects that Rogers may be intrusive it all stems from Rogers recognizing the deep pain within Lloyd and wanting to help him. It's uncomfortable but Heller's direction makes confronting our anger and sorrows something that is painful but can be so rewarding, a lot of Lloyd's breakthroughs are through himself fighting to be better, for his family and himself. Rogers merely an inspiration to confronting his inner self rather than a direct cure or manipulating events to help Lloyd.
The film takes on an interesting narrative framing which allows Rogers presence to reflect how we all saw him; as a man who could to speak to everyone, especially an audience. Heller and the screenplay from Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster tell the story within the context of an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood complete with Hanks singing the theme song, putting on a sweater and changing into sneakers. This visual and narrative device elevates A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood to creative heights and is another brilliant way that differentiates it from typical biopics. Dioramas in the style of the show are used as establishing shots for the film's reality, and Heller uses many of Rogers' show staples to guide the audience through Lloyd's emotional journey with appearances within the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from puppets King Friday and Daniel the Tiger. It gets very surreal and those moments where Matthew Rhys finds himself living within the reality of the episode are amazing. Rhys leads the film extremely well, making a predictable arc powerful as Heller using the dreamlike show imagery to throw us off guard and really letting the raw emotions of the performances wash over the audience like a cleansing for all the pessimism within.
"Lloyd, please don't ruin my childhood." is what Lloyd's wife, Andrea utters when he reveals he's going to meet and interview Mister Rogers. We live in a time where celebrities and powerful figures on television are revealed to be decades-long abusers; Bill Cosby, Jimmy Saville, Kevin Spacey, among others. Fred Rogers' position as a children's entertainer would immediately make people suspicious of him, many outside America unaware of his influence viewing him as Lloyd would; with trepidation. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a story of a cynic learning to believe again and Heller subtly uses our own distrust of public figures to makes the authenticity of the man all the more powerful as we thaw alongside Lloyd. In what might truly be the role he was born to play Tom Hanks, widely now to be considered "America's Dad" has the same grace, kindness that Rogers inspired in so many. We live in a time where we assume all of Hollywood are sex perverts but Hanks is still the shining light that everyone looks up to, making him the perfect Mister Rogers for the big screen. It is a masterful performance that goes beyond impression or parody, a genuine portrayal of a genuine man and the subconscious connection to Hanks helps unknowing audiences form the same feeling many people have for the real Mister Rogers. Hanks can convey so much emotion and character just through body language and subtle inflexions, he has no big speech or dramatic moment just small actions of immersable emotional weight. Hanks merely looking into the camera or playing the piano is enough to reduce the audience to tears as he lets the audience into the soul of his beloved character.
One of the most heartfelt and important films of the year, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood succeeds on every front in how genuine and personal director Marielle Heller makes the story of Lloyd Vogel. Empathetic to the point that the soundtrack of the film is just the sniffles of tears in the audience, Hanks and Rhys deliver an emotional powerhouse that makes you believe in the world again. Immensely creative, inspirationally powerful, and unforgettable in how Heller and Hanks spiritually reawaken the hope within yourself. It may be easy to be a cynical bastard wallowing in bitterness and grief but there is a better way, and it's worth taking.
Director: #MarielleHeller
Screenwriter: #MicahFitzermanBlue and #NoahHarpster
Release Date: January 31st 2020
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images from the Internet Movie Database, Synopsis from Google
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