Saving Mr. Banks (FILM REVIEW)
Saving
Mr. Banks
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Period Piece Recounts Disney Landing Rights to Mary Poppins
P.L. Travers (Emma
Thompson) was the pen name of Helen Lyndon Goff (1899-1996), the creator of the
children’s classic “Mary Poppins.” When his daughters were young, Walt Disney
(Tom Hanks) promised to turn their favorite book into a movie, since they were
so enchanted by the British nanny with magical powers.
Little did
he know that the effort to secure the film rights would drag on for a couple of
decades due to the uncompromising author’s inflexibility, as she insisted that
any adaptation remain faithful to the source material. The protracted courting process
finally proved fruitful in 1961, when Walt wined and dined the reluctant writer
at his Hollywood studio while making an
elaborate sales pitch to turn the story into a musical.
He would
succeed in wooing Travers with the assistance of his screenwriter (Bradley
Whitford) and songwriting team (B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman), although the
deferential chauffeur (Paul Giamatti) assigned to drive her around during her
stay would also play a pivotal role.
That
productive two-week visit is revisited by Saving Mr. Banks, a dramatization directed
by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side). The picture’s title is a reference to
Mary Poppins’ employer George Banks, who was among the many characters Travers
was trying to protect.
Credit consummate
thespians Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson for approaching their lead roles in such
convincing fashion that a period piece about a contract negotiation actually proves
entertaining. Hanks pours on the folksy charm impersonating the legendary
Disney opposite the chameleon-like Thompson who takes her sweet time as the
steely Travers to soften from skeptical to enthusiastic about the proposed project.
While Saving
Mr. Banks certainly waxes sentimental and ends on an upbeat note, a Mary
Poppins sequel was not to be, despite the fact that the original won five
Academy Awards. For, Travers and Disney had such a big falling out prior to the
picture’s release that she wasn’t even invited to the premiere.
Furthermore,
she remained so enraged about her book’s mistreatment at the hands of the
studio that she went to her grave refusing to entertain overtures for another
adaptation, even reaffirming that preference in her will. However, the truth never
seems to get in the way of a syrupy cinematic send-up with a stock, “happily
ever after” ending.
To
paraphrase Mary Poppins, “Just a spoonful of sugar helps revisionist history go
down,” and in a most delightful way!
Excellent
(3.5 stars)
Rated PG-13
for mature themes and unsettling images
Running time: 125
minutes
Distributor: Walt
Disney Pictures
To see a trailer for Saving Mr. Banks, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nijccxWvyXU
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