Saving Mr.Banks was a marvelous film that will be remembered for the decades. It will for sure be put in that category where few films ever end up "The Classics." I have no doubt about it. The acting was superb. I do recommend you see Marry Poppins first. It will make you appreciate Saving Mr.Banks more. One more thing you need to know is it's a real tear jerk-er. If you don't shed a tear at least once, you probably don't have a soul.
I said you need to see Marry Poppins first because this movie is about the making of Marry Poppins. The process was much more complicated then you might have expected. Marry Poppins started out as a book written by P.L. Travers. The book sales of Marry Poppins were steadily decreasing so Travers finally decided to go meet with Disney to start discussing the movie. Travers does not like what the team making Marry Poppins is showing her. Walt Disney is so dedicated to fulfilling a 20 year promise to his daughters that he will make the beloved Marry Poppins into a movie, that he will do anything it takes.
One of the few things to appreciate in this is the acting. With 2 Academy Award winners, and 1 Screen Actors Guild Winner who also has an Academy Award nomination, you know you will have a good time.
Tom Hanks a Academy Award winner. He portrays the mastermind behind it all, Walt Disney. He is fantastic in this role. He brings the creative, humble side of Disney to life. At the same time he also brought that secret hatred he had of Travers to life. Its a bummer this year is so stacked, that Hanks will probably not receive an Academy Award nomination.
Emma Thompson is another one of those Oscar winners in Saving Mr.Banks. There is no mistake for hiring talent. I never knew the history or who even P.L. Travers even was before I saw Saving Mr.Banks. Now I feel like I have a complete understanding of who she was. Thompson did a fantastic job of bringing a person not many are not familiar with and making her someone that people will be tricked to appreciate. John Lee Hancock directed this film. Why did I bring that up? Well, because he directed Sandra Bullock towards here Oscar for The Blind Side. I guarantee Emma Thompson will be at least nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars.
Paul Giamatti is the Screen Actors Guild winner and the academy award nominee. He does not play a big part in the film but at the same time he does. He is not in it a lot but his character as Traver's driver helps move the character along. There is one really precious scene between Giamatti and Travers that will do something key in the story. I don't want to spoil anything but you probably already know the outcome.
But the star, who stole the show was.........Colin Farrel. There are flashbacks in this movie. And in those flashback Farrel plays P.L. Travers dad when she was about 7 or 8. He outshines the great Tom Hanks, the great Emma Thompson, the great Paul Giamatti. I can't go in depth of describing his character with out giving away too. You just need to take my word from it.
You might be sick of me praising the acting, but that's really the only thing when I look back on it. The rest of the film was not memorable. The acting, and the story/screenplay were the only noteworthy or mentionable things in this. I can't give any credit to the music because it's been around for 50 years. I can't give any credit to the cinematography (maybe just a little).
That is the reason why it is just my 16th film of the year. It was not a disappointment but a let down. It just made it into my top 20 because the acting and story/screenplay made it worth my while. I will give this film a 7/10.
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