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If you grew up on Mister Rogers, you may find your lachrymal ducts a bit shaky when pioneering piano notes first played during the opening credits of "A Nice Day in the Neighborhood".
Director Marielle Heller ("Can you still forgive me?") Immediately launches into the recreation of the song and sequence that began each episode of the children's show "Mister Rogers" Neighborhood , in Pittsburgh, followed by Fred Rogers, Tom Hanks in that gateway, changing the suit jacket for the zippy sweater and immediately going to his house, Keds. (Younger audience members may be naturally puzzled as to why this guy is launching his shoe from hand to hand.)
But it's not a simple biopic, and for that we can probably be happy about it. First, last year, a breathtaking documentary was featured on Rogers. Secondly, it is the rare biopic that does not fit into predictability, cheese, or both. Heller is trying something different and more off-the-wall here, and he's doing it better.
The screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster is based on the profile of Tom Junod's Esquire magazine. a cynic stained in the wool that rubs with the idea of being given such a tale story.
Some viewers may be disappointed that this film is not all about Fred Rogers, but after a little thought, I think less may be better. Make no mistake: Hanks was born to play this role. He does not channel Rogers, not exactly, but he perfectly understands the generous and flawless sincerity that was the hallmark of the TV host. Add to that the fact that Hanks is already one of our most beloved actors – the applause when he walked on stage with the cast of the film at the world premiere of the film Saturday night were thundering – and you have an alchemical reaction for ages. (That said, from time to time, a bit of Forrest Gump's teenager insinuates in his twang of Pittsburgh.)
Heller's film becomes almost a debate between all of modern culture and Rogers. No matter how many times Rhys' character asks him what's behind this beautiful speech or who's the "real" man apart from the character he's playing in the series, Rogers patiently explains that his mission is to help people – children, mainly, but obviously also, the guy who interviews him – learns to cope with difficult feelings. And that talking about them makes them manageable.
Lloyd, who feeds all his life with resentment toward his absent father (Chris Cooper), leaving his mother alone to die of a lingering illness, is imbued with an urban emotional armor that turns out to be difficult to break through. for Rogers – a challenge that he had apparently loved.
"He likes everyone, but he likes people like you," Rogers producer (Enrico Colantoni) told Lloyd. "You do not really care about humanity, do not you?" After sitting in a subway car full of people singing spontaneously "A nice day in the neighborhood" when they spot the host on board, we know that Lloyd is a goner.
Finally, he finds himself in a wonderfully strange sequence in which he became a character in the country of Make-Believe, with his wife (Susan Kelechi Watson) playing the role of Princess Lady Aberlin.
Heller also embodies Rogers' unique broadcast format by interweaving scenes of miniature landscapes. And it's fun to meet the staff that runs the show, a beloved but exhausted band that is constantly reorganizing the day's schedule to accommodate Rogers' daily encounters with kids who want to visit him and give in to his insistence on that a shot that does not go wrong. always bad – like when he tries to install a tent on the board.
"Children need to learn that when adults do projects, they do not always perform as we expected," he says with a smile and a shrug. (I'd like to imagine somebody saying this to presenters today.) Heller also finds moments to recognize that Rogers was not perfect and that it was not a good thing to say that it was not perfect. he found his own way of releasing the stress of being a de facto saint. , including the piano game: He kept one on the set, at least in this short story.
I'm sure some viewers will find it all so cute that it will hurt their teeth and I feel bad for them. The real cover story that was finally released called "Can you say … 'Hero'? The portrait of Hanks in its entirety should earn him an Oscar nomination and, ideally, inspire a little more kindness in all of us.
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