John
Lee Hancock (The Blind Side,
Snow White and the Huntsman)
directs this part-biopic, part-comedy of the pre-production hell of
Mary Poppins which saw
Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) woo the book's severe English/Australian
author, P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson). One of the first things to say
about Saving Mr. Banks is
that Emma Thompson is absolutely glorious as the brusque Mrs Travers
(“It is so discomforting to hear a perfect stranger use my first
name”). I have long been a fan of hers (Thompson, that is, not Mrs
T), and her performance is captivating and hilarious in equal
measure.
P. L. Travers was very reticent to give her beloved
characters away to Walt Disney, a man whom she saw as vulgar and
childish and was only prepared to do so should she have the final say
in any production matter. The results of this are brilliant rehearsal
and production meeting sequences in which Mrs Travers insists on a
tape recorder being present to prevent Mr Disney from going back on
his word of giving her artistic control. During the end credits, the
audience is assured that Thompson's waspish and outspoken portrayal
of P. L. Travers is not over-egged when the actual recordings of
these meetings are played – a joy to hear in themselves.
Tom
Hanks is convincing as Walt (and is actually a distant cousin of
Disney) and plays the balance between idealistic entertainer and
businessman very effectively. Interestingly, the development of the
script for Saving Mr. Banks had
no direct input from the Walt Disney Corporation who only intervened to
ask that Walt was not shown smoking on-screen. The resulting
screenplay (written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith) is very funny,
insightful and rather moving. Two worlds exist in the film: P. L.
Travers in 1960s Los Angeles during the pre-production of Mary
Poppins and flashbacks to her
early childhood in rural Australia.
These
flashbacks explain the reasons behind key plot points in Mary
Poppins and add a level of
emotional depth to the film. Recounting Traver's close relationship
to her playfully-imaginative, alcoholic bank manager father and his
early death, the flashback sequences work well to explain the roots
of Mary Poppins (after
her father's death, her distraught mother's sister came to help the
family and, in turn, became the inspiration for Mary Poppins
herself). Traver's attempts at redemption for her father act as the
central theme of the film. The flashbacks are at times, however,
rather uneven and their meaning is spelt out too obviously for the
audience. Hancock needn't have been so unsubtle in his treatment of
Traver's back story.
I was surprised to learn that the majority of
the plot is, indeed, factually-accurate and I'm sure you'll Google
the fierce P. L. Travers when you come home from the cinema.
Emotionally-manipulative and syrupy as these scenes are, they
ultimately work because the film is not ashamed to be supremely
idealistic and sweet: everything that Disney was and Travers was not.
Aside
from the flashbacks, the film excels in its 1960s sequences which are
engaging and very funny. The genesis of the 1964 film's legendary
songs is shown to be a tough one: Travers demanded that there were to
be no songs in the film and no “silly animations” either. A
decision which, obviously, she later had to reverse. Thompson treats
these arguments and demands with an immediacy and conviction which
was compelling to watch and which produced some very humorous
moments. Traver's character transformation is obvious from the outset
but this does not make it any less enjoyable or affecting. Indeed, I
shed a tear at the end.
Saving Mr. Banks
manages to be both funny and
emotionally-powerful and recounts a story of film production which is
immensely enjoyable to watch. Emma Thompson is undoubtedly the
cornerstone of the film, giving a nuanced and enchanting performance
in a film which will make you rush out and buy the DVD of Mary
Poppins. I loved it, and so will
you.
Clapperboard Rating: * * * * *
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