Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood 

This is an emotional roller coaster of a film! Tom Hanks delivers an outstanding turn as the gentle and famous Fred Rogers as what makes the film so fantastic is that the film drives home a deep message. The lead character of this film is not looked at positively he’s cynical and negative and he can even be seemed a bit of a jerk and the film has a deep arc hitting some emotional levels I didn’t expect it to go. As the film touches upon letting go of emotional pain and learning to be happy and to those around you. 

Firstly, The film is amazing for a lot of reasons but a big one is that the film yes is about Mr Rogers but he’s not the main star of the film it’s more about the journalist who is the centre of the film but Mr Rogers is the heart and soul of the film that guides the main character to emotional healing which is powerfully presented and executed. The film doesn’t try and cover all about Mr Rogers life instead it focuses more on one aspect of his life and the relationship he had with this journalist who is doing a cover piece on him and I thought that was so smartly done. As I’m not saying all but some films try to cram to much into 1h for a bio pic and then it seems rushed so for them to just focus in on one time in his life and this specific person he had a connection with I thought was brilliantly done in terms of narrative and a bio pic I had seen very few films do that approach. 

Secondly, The film hits very deep emotional levels that I was amazed by but also incredibly moved and to tears many times as what Mr Rogers stood for was his ability to deal and discuss heavy handed topics for kids and here the film does that same sort of approach which is talk about very heavy topics like emotional pain, Death, Relationships and finding joy in your life and the film doesn’t make it very light on these topics when they discuss it they go for it and they really discuss these topics in such a honest way that was perfectly done as it also made the audience feel like you learned something or you look at things from another point of view which is what Mr Rogers always wanted to do and that’s what this film carries so well is the emotional heaviness but also the lessons he taught kids only difference is this time those kids are now adults and we still learn from what he still teaches us. 

Lastly, A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood is a emotionally charged film that discusses very hard topics that are so well done but also tackles Mr Rogers story in such a unique and compelling way that is driven by Tom Hanks’s terrific performance that will make you smile and feel full of love but also bring you to tears with his emotional gentleness. Their is such solid performances throughout this film while also giving a great execution of Mr Rogers at a certain point in his life and his impact on somebody’s life and the many lessons we learn from him along the way that is so incredibly done this film is truly amazing. 

The film is based on a true story in the 1990’s A  cynical journalist is assigned to write a cover piece on Mr Rogers and along the way learns a lot about himself that Fred Rogers teaches him

Rated PG : for some strong thematic material, a brief fight, and some mild language

Tom Hanks : Hanks delivers a emotionally gentle and warm hearted performance that will amaze you and move you. Tom Hanks has been having a good year as with the massive success of Toy Story 4 and now this film he’s been having a great year for himself as Toy story 4 was more of a conclusion to the franchise this was more of a role to showcase his dramatic muscles once again. He’s portrayed a bunch of real life characters throughout his career and this performance is definitely one of my favourites. First off he dose not do an imitation of Mr Rogers as I forgot I was watching Tom Hanks I fully believed it was Fred Rogers as he really captures the soul and heart that was Fred Rogers. The moment we are introduced to Fred you cannot take your eyes off of Hanks as he brings such a strong warmth to his portrayal of this icon and he plays it with such subtly as the way he would just look into the camera and smile and you see that sparkle in his eye and joy in his smile it was so perfectly presented as on top of that the way his dialogue rolls off his tongue in such a gentle and emotionally positive way as he transforms his voice as it sounds identical to the actual Fred Rogers and he had these small things he did that he brought to his performance as in the way he would walk or how he would move his hands to the way he sat everything he could incorporate about Fred Rogers he brought and it really worked brilliantly as he shows the human and man of Fed Rogers and not the celebrity that he was presented as by many news outlets. He can give such reassurance within a scene and provide such advice that makes you smile but then he can switch it entirely and deliver some hard hitting honest things to say that hit you emotionally like a brick. Tom is very emotionally expressive as Mr Rogers In such a subtle way as he is very emotional and impactful but he never has these big emotionally loud moments it’s very contained and he’s very calm and it’s so different and unlike anything I’ve seen from Tom in some time. He shows the endearing quality that Mr Rogers was and forever is but also was able to explore him as a human and show things and sides to him we may not have known that was so well acted by Hanks who fully disappeared into this role giving a truly magnificent performance that will have you smiling with tears streaming down your face it’s one of my favourite performances he’s given in some time. 

Marielle Heller : Heller gives incredible direction on this film! She did outstanding work with her great critical hit last year with Can you ever forgive me and now tackles one of the most iconic and impactful television program hosts ever Mr Fred Rogers. This was no easy feat or task to take on as you are trying to accomplish the task of bringing what is considered by so many people around the world a big part of their childhood to the screen and when I heard Tom Hanks was cast to take on the role of Fred Rogers I was onboard just by that information alone as I knew he would knock this out of the park and he did. What I loved about Heller’s approach to the subject matter was being able to approach this figure who has a massive impact and legacy he left on the world and show the love that he spread through that television screen but also to others in his everyday life. She dose not try to tackle his entire life story but instead a part in his life and a specific year and this relationship he formed with this journalist and how he created such a impact on that person’s life. The film is so smartly told as it is not told through the eyes of Mr Rogers but its told through the journalist’s eyes and we see his point of view on Mr Rogers and I thought that was a great approach to the story as she dose not make Mr Rogers the lead of this film but is rather a guide to help this person through emotional pain and he is the heart of this film but is not the lead star of it and I thought the handling of the amount of screen time and how Tom Hanks was used throughout the film was so well done. As she dose not get swept up in the magic of Mr Rogers which is easy to do as she could of just done a bio pic about his life but instead chose to do it from an entirely different point of view and really go into deep emotional places within the story that will speak to evreybody on some level as she brings this very emotionally gripping tone to the film that is simple but so effective as she touches upon such hard topics and tackles them beautifully she approached the tough topics in the way Mr Rogers would she didn’t sugar coat it and told the honest truth of it which made it the more emotional to watch unfold. While also getting great solid performances from the entire cast and a truly outstanding performance from Tom Hanks. The film is a great introduction for people who may not have grown up with him and for those who did it satisfies and will make you feel like a kid when watching this film and she warms your heart and emotionally invests you within seconds as she brings a fantastic bio pic of Mr Rogers that is so much more then just that it has such depth and layers she brought to it that hits with an emotional punch she delivered a fantastic film she did a outstanding job at directing this film.