Saving Mr. Banks: Movie Review
Movie Info
RATING:
PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images
GENRE:
Drama, Biography
RELEASE:
December 20, 2013
STARRING:
Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Bradley Whitford, Paul Giamatti, Annie Rose Buckley, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman
DIRECTOR:
John Lee Hancock
DISTRIBUTOR:
Walt Disney Pictures
More on this movie at IMDb.com
There's a story behind every story. Saving Mr. Banks' plotline follows the relationship between the author P.L. Travers and Walt Disney as he tries to convince her to let him make a movie about her beloved storybook character, Mary Poppins.
One of the best films of 2013, Saving Mr. Banks is "practically perfect in every way". It stars the incomparable Emma Thompson as Travers and Tom Hanks as Disney. Their performances engage you from the first scenes on through to the ending credits.
THE MOVIE IN A MINUTE
For 20 years, Walt Disney has tried to convince P.L. Travers to give him the film rights to her popular novel, Mary Poppins. Determined to make the movie, as he promised to his two daughters years ago, Disney again reaches out to Travers, having her flown to Los Angeles to finalize the deal and start pre-production. Uncompromising Ms. Travers isn't having it though. Every step of the way she puts up a roadblock for Disney to face. Her sentimentality for her beloved story clashes with his child-like desire to have Poppins sing and dance on the big screen.
THE GOOD AND BAD IN SAVING MR. BANKS
You will not look at the flying nanny the same again. And that's a good thing. Saving Mr. Banks shines a light on how Travers' troubled childhood and relationship with her alcoholic father shaped the popular character's story.
Thompson and Hanks as the two leads give outstanding performances. With an exceptional supporting cast including the talented Paul Giamatti, Saving Mr. Banks leaps off the screen and into your heart. You'll laugh and cry, and sing along. Its message of the power of hope, joy and forgiveness reaches deep.
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images, Saving Mr. Banks is for pre-teen moviegoers and older. It's worth mentioning that at the beginning of the movie Travers' home office contains spiritual elements, including a Buddha statue and a nod to the author's interest in awaking her consciousness. The flashbacks show Travers' father drinking a lot of alcohol, and one character is shown to have a large number of pill bottles, suggesting a dependence on medications.
IN THE END
In a word, Saving Mr. Banks is magical.
