Saving Mr. Banks

For many people, myself included, Mary Poppins is a film that has created many wondrous memories as a tale of life, imagination, and hope.  What lies behind the scenes of that movie is a yarn that Disney has worked into a docudrama called Saving Mr. Banks, a movie that shows the attempts of Walt Disney  (played by Tom Hanks) to get the rights to the book from author P.L. Travers (played by Emma Thompson).

While it is a very interesting story to be sure, it is easy to become a little bit weary when a studio is making a film that includes both their namesake as well as one of their flagship movies.  Fears that I had before the movie were that Disney would be portrayed in an overly immaculate light due to the fact that Disney executives would want to create nothing less as the film is undeniably linked to their brand.  As it turned out, that fear was well founded, with few faults showing through in Hank’s character.  The film did reference the fact that he was a smoker, but did so with extreme care.  He at times becomes frustrated and short, but never in a way that would allow for him to have to redeem himself to audiences.  In a way, he was almost a movie industry deity who could do no absolute wrong, striving relentlessly with good intention to honour what was good and decent about movies.

In my description of Disney, I hope that it does not come off that I was completely insulted by the portrayal, but more than it was sadly what one could expect from this film.  I need to state that Tom Hanks delivered a great performance of the movie mogul, and that Thompson was phenomenal as his opposite.  Travers was depicted as a character with uncompromising stances, and capable of instantly alienating anyone who dared come within a twenty foot radius of her.

While perhaps Disney was portrayed in too positive a light, it felt like Travers was portrayed in an overly negative tone.  She was the main character, who also turned into the antagonist in the movie as the smiling faces from the Disney Studios had to deal with her absurd requests.  Ultimately, the film did work towards a redemption of character for Travers, and used flash backs throughout the entire film to lead to us getting a full understanding of her character and how she acts.  It was these flashbacks that I found very hard to endure, as they had an entirely different complex to them than the rest of the film and continually created a tonal battle for the audience.  The major emotional elements were to spring from these flashbacks, but instead of connecting more to the Travers character, I felt like I was held down in my theatre chair and was being force fed emotions.

I may not sound too positive towards this film thus far, but that is where it will end.  While I found the use of the flashbacks eye rolling at times, it was the segments that were set in the ‘present’ that were bringing the entertainment and personality of the film.  A lot of the fun that I found with this movie was from scenes within the rehearsal room where Travers battled with Disney employees over how the movie would unfold.  There was some fun dialogue in here, and the performances of the supporting cast were what took it over the top (in a good way).  We had Bradley Whitford playing screenwriter Don DaGradi, who was constantly trying to keep his composure while working with Travers.  As the music composer brothers Richard and Robert Sherman we had Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak who had their jobs cut out for them as Travers was insistent that the movie not be a musical.  Ferrying the stubborn author around from work to hotel and back was her limo driver played by Paul Giamatti, who always brings a strong performance.  The casting of these actors lead to a great chemistry in many scenes and carried with it the bulk of entertainment that the movie held.

After watching the film, I found myself wondering over what the movie could have possibly been.  If it focused completely on the situation of obtaining the rights and the creation of the movie it would have allowed us more time with Travers and the Disney employees.  If perhaps Travers was shown to be relatable without relying on flashbacks and was given the chance to be the true protagonist.  With Disney being the company behind this movie, such an event would be impossible as it would mean that Walt would have to take up the mantle of antagonist, something that I know they would never do.  Perhaps that is what really held this movie back.  We needed more humanity and fault from the side of the big company as it battled the author, something that would have allowed more connection to the story and not left me with a feeling like I had just watched pre-Oscar propaganda for a Best Motion Picture nomination.

Rating – 2.5 out of 4 stars