Pi@LFF: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Source: image.net
Pi@LFF is a series of reviews made by the Pi Culture team attending the 2019 BFI London Film Festival. Here, Kirese Narinesingh reviews the dramatisation of the relationship between a cynical journalist and a beloved children’s TV personality.
I must start with a disclaimer: I write with bias. I grew up watching Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, religiously. I knew each of his puppets and memorised the iconic, opening theme, “Won’t you be my Neighbor?” As such, it was with an atmosphere of nostalgic content that Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood began, with Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks) performing his daily ritual of putting on his cardigan, while singing this familiar tune. The difference is, the film isn’t quite about Mr. Rogers.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was an educational children’s program. The film replicates the didactic structure of the show, with Mr. Rogers at the background occupying a constant source of authority. Heller thankfully has the skill to prevent it from becoming awkward, by balancing the forced humorous bits with the sincerity of Hanks’ performance. The film actually revolves around someone who’s been touched by the presence of Mr. Rogers: a cynical, hardened journalist, Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys, whose sullen, drawn-out face has never been more effective). He’s a cold, merciless figure who refuses to even acknowledge his desperate father (Chris Cooper). Not that he doesn’t have his reasons, (he was abandoned as a child, while his mother died of cancer) but there’s something utterly despondent about him, something missing, that gives their relationship an extra layer of sadness.
Lloyd is entrusted - much to his dismay - to write a feature about Mr. Rogers. He’s an aggressive journalist, searching for a reason to write a scandalous exposé and denigrate an “American hero.” To his surprise, he can’t seem to find anything even remotely bad. There’s even a scene where Mr. Rogers, as if to prove his unbelievable goodness, calms down an angry child, just by talking to him on his level, without pretence or condescension. Is he too good to be true? He’s certainly got a bewitching charm that leaves everyone awestruck. Even worse, Mr. Rogers uses his personable skills against Lloyd himself. Gently, in his demure way, he breaks down Lloyd’s rigid pessimism by simply being himself: “Mr. Rogers.”
Hanks’ scenes as Mr. Rogers are better than the actual storyline. He’s the light in an otherwise dark story that could’ve turned into a kitschy, kitchen-sink drama. That’s why the best scenes are those in which characters are stupefied when meeting him (I would be, too). Hanks seems to realise, like Lloyd in the film, that goodness isn’t perfection. It’s something learned. That’s why he does an exceptional job with this. He’s so perfect in delivering Mr. Roger’s slow and considered manner of speech, which is stilled with patience and wholesomeness. It’s simplicity. As complex as it is, Hanks’ has mastered it.
It could’ve been boring. It could’ve been a standardised tale of morality, or a harmless biopic that would’ve copped a few Oscar nominations. At its core, it’s still a simple, harmless tale of personal struggles that’s like one of Mr. Roger’s episodes of moral development. People may call it conventional. But it’s ironic that my favourite scenes are the ones that display simple and true goodness, because goodness isn’t appreciated in its cinematic depictions. The majority of the most interesting film characters probably aren’t good, but Mr. Rogers isn’t a character. That’s what Lloyd realises: his goodness is as real as he is.