Review of Saving Mr. Banks (2013) by Anand K — 18 Jun 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

Saving Mr. Banks is about the childhood life of P.L Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, and the connection it has with her novel. At the same time fighting with Walt Disney for the vision of how the film would turn out.

I found the plot of Saving Mr. Banks to be highly entertaining with only a couple of problems that prevent it from being perfect. This film has been out for some time and I have had people tell me about the film's core story, so I was quite aware of what I was coming into. The film essentially is telling two stories that are connected to one another with each story being given an equal amount of time on screen. I didn't mind the two stories as both are interesting in their own right, it's just that one seems to be more interesting than the other, which is the exploration of Travers' past and her relationship with her father, and the fact that we have to go back to 1961 where the emotional core is slightly reduced, it feels disappointing. I think because the 1961 sequences seem to be filled with humour and that a lot of the dialogue and characters seem to come off sugar coated, that I find it hard to enjoy it to the fullest; I would have preferred the film's tone to be uniform in order for me to feel optimally invested. The film also felt a tad bit long, particularly the film's first hour. Scenes took their time to be fleshed out, but most of them never needed to take that long in order for the audience to be entertained or invested. Luckily the film's second half was fantastic, as things get deeper in both the characters and the film's tone. In a way I am also glad the film's first half was fleshed out as I think the film's emotional payoff benefited highly from it, it's execution was so well handle that I even shed a couple of tears, but again like I said it could have been done with a much shorter running time.

The film's photography was overall great. I enjoyed the film's use of warm colors and the attention to detail that was given on creating 1960s Los Angeles was fantastic. I think the stand out was the shots during the exploration of Travers' childhood in the Australian country, though I don't think it is as accurate as I wanted it to be, I did think handled effectively; it was shot in Texas instead of Australia, and one can see the elements of the Texas country in some of the exterior shots. I was extremely happy with what Thomas Newman had created for the film, though his best works were the ones he collaborated with Sam Mendes or Pixar, the music was nevertheless wonderful from start to finish. I immediately heard the trademarks in his style when his compositions came on and in most moments it did move me a little, but it is during moments in the third act where his score truly shined. It helped deliver the emotional impact during key scenes while also elevating the film's themes.

The acting in this film was for the most part great, I don't want to spend time detailing the reasons why it's great as the actor's immersion to their characters plainly speaks for themselves, even the supportive actors like Jason Schwartzman, BJ Novak, Paul Giammati, Bradley Whitford, and Rachel Griffiths provided grade A performances. My main concern is the amount of nastiness that Emma Thompson gives to her character, though this could also be a directorial decision rather than the actress, but I felt the lack of buffer made it seem overwhelming, particularly during the film's first act. The film tries to make us empathise/sympathise with her during the first act but because the film fails to have the audience find something to latch onto the character, then the perception of the leading character maintains to be negative. Luckily this is my only problem with Thompson's performance. Colin Farrell as P.L Travers' father was amazing in the role. It reminded just how great Farrell could be when the right role is given to him. His performance was actually the main highlight of this film, going way beyond on what Hanks and Thompson brought to the table.

Saving Mr. Banks is a great film that gives us insight to the meaning the novel has with its author, and provides the viewers a wonderful new way in looking at the classic film.