Saving Mr Banks

Going near Mary Poppins should be a kiss of death to any film.  Few films are so ingrained into the heart of the world than Robert Stevenson and Walt Disney’s blend of live action and animation.  However, not many films can claim to have Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks on board and with John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) manning the helm it may just be possible for Saving Mr Banks to do the impossible.

The main thrust of this film is Walt Disney’s (Hanks) desperate attempts to get P.L. Travers (Thompson), the original writer of the Mary Poppins books, to give him permission to take the characters and books that are so central to her being and make them leap off the screen.  However, we all know how that story ends.  Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke did exactly that and Travers apparently hated it.  So it has to be asked where is the tension is in such a release?  What is going to make us care enough to sit through two hours of it.

Well, where this story shines is through it’s performances and through it’s exploration of Travers past.  Both Hanks and Thompson are obviously fantastic, we would expect nothing less of two performers who have proven themselves time after time.  But it’s really in the fleshing out of Travers background, and why these characters are so important to her, that this film makes it’s mark.  It’s no secret to reveal that the true meaning at the heart of Mary Poppins is that she is not their to save the children but rather Mr Banks himself (it’s hardly a spoiler when it’s in the title) but it’s a joy, and at times is likely to make you cry like a baby, to find out exactly why that is the case.

Obviously the film also benefits from having a fantastic wealth of history to draw on and it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard them the songs from Mary Poppins they are still likely to make you tap your foot and smile along with glee.  Meanwhile Disney Land looks like the paradise Disney intends it to be and his larger than life personality fits in perfectly with it’s surroundings.  Not everything is over the top and grand however, as there is a real human edge to this story.  This is perfectly represented in the relationship Travers builds up with her driver Ralph, a man she initially treats with poorly disguised contempt.  It leads to yet another moment that will have you reaching for the tissues as this simple man manages to break through her hard outer shell.

This is just a wonderful film to watch, it’s as simple as that.  I can’t see how you would go along and not leave the cinema with a smile on your face.  Hanks and Thompson have brought too life two characters that have played such a major part in shaping popular culture as it is today and it’s a joy to watch them on the same screen.  Miss this one and it will be your own mistake.