068 REVIEW
s there anyone else on the planet who could
play the incomparable Fred Rogers besides
Tom Hanks? There’s not much of a physical
resemblance, yet the two share something more
significant: a place in the hearts of Americans from
all walks of life.
Children raised on the television show Mr Rogers’
Neighborhood were taught the value of human kindness
and self-expression, as demonstrated so eloquently
in Morgan Neville’s 2018 documentary Won’t You
Be My Neighbor?. He touched the lives of countless
individuals, and can be seen as a true force for good in
a world of increasing instability. Hanks, be it as Woody
the Cowboy or Josh Baskin or Sully Sullenberger,
is a similar sort of specifically-American hero.
He gamely joshes around on Saturday Night
Live, while maintaining a modest but charming
internet presence. He’s benevolent and beloved,
just like Rogers.
Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood has been billed as a Fred Rogers biopic,
but really it’s about Tom Junod. In 1998, the writer
was commissioned by Esquire to write a short profile
of Rogers for their ‘Heroes’ issue. After spending
time with him, Junod turned in a 10,000 word essay.
In Heller’s fictionalised account of Junod’s meetings
with Rogers, Matthew Rhys plays a stand-in named
Lloyd Vogel. An investigative journalist by trade,
he’s unenthusiastic about the prospect of meeting
Rogers, as well as battling his own personal demons
following the return of his estranged father Jerry
(Chris Cooper, slightly sauced and persistent in the
face of his son’s rejections).Just as Rogers taught countless children the
importance of handling emotions in a healthy way,
so he teaches the wounded Lloyd, who is furious
and heartbroken at the same time. He struggles to
process his childhood trauma which is compounded
by the fact he has recently become a father himself.
Initially he resists Rogers’ attempts to reach out to
him. Though you may not think it from the film’s
marketing campaign, Rogers is in fact a supporting
player in Lloyd’s story (and Hanks likely a shoo-in
for the Supporting Oscar in 2020). Perhaps this
is the only way to really make a film about Fred
Rogers – by making it about the people whose lives
he touched.
As in 2015’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl and 2018’s
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Heller brings her usual wit
and playfulness to proceedings, side-stepping mawkish
sentimentality in favour of matter-of-fact pragmatism.
It does feel a little lighter in tone, and as cosy as it is the
film is less daring than Heller’s previous work. Surely
there’s no need to further canonise Fred Rogers – his
magic was a lack of fuss, a soft voice and an infinite
supply of patience.
His curiosity about the world – but more
importantly, the people in it and society at large- feels like it could be the primary inspiration
for Hanks’ performance, and rather than
overly concerning himself with achieving an
uncanny likeness, this is more like a canny
reimagining. No one can be Mr Rogers, but at the
same time, everyone can. All it takes is a little
kindness to yourself, and a lot of kindness
towards others. HANNAH WOODHEAD
Directed by
MARIELLE HELLER
Starring
MATTHEW RHYS
TOM HANKS
SUSAN KELECHI WATSON
Released
6 DECEMBER
ANTICIPATION.
Hanks as Mr Rogers seems like
peak wholesome content.
ENJOYMENT.
A sweet, heartfelt little adventure.
IN RETROSPECT.
Charming, although a tad more
conventional than Heller’s
previous work.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
I