- In these times full of hate, anger, division, and cynicism, this film is exactly what the world needs right now. It is, in a word… beautiful.

Full Disclosure: I thought this would be a solid movie with some good acting. I knew Tom Hanks would nail the role of the late television icon Mister Rogers, but I was expecting a pseudo-biopic dripping with saccharine cliches.

Review

For quite some time now, I’ve referred to Tom Hanks as “America’s dad”. In his thirty years of being a bonafide Hollywood A-lister, I’ve never heard an unkind word said about the guy. Even when he lays a dud, (Cloud Atlas, anyone?) he rebounds because he’s Tom Hanks. He’s as close to bulletproof as any celebrity alive. Even in the age of social media, he’s managed to maintain his squeaky clean, “aw shucks”, American as apple pie image. It’s not a large leap for “America’s dad” to step into the iconic sneakers of “America’s de facto child therapist”, Mr. Fred Rogers.

It’s the perfect role for Hanks at this point in his storied career, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised when it was announced earlier this week that he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. I knew he’d be really good before I even stepped foot into the theater. What I didn’t know, however, is that he’d be absolutely fantastic! For the man who’s brought to life such cultural icons as Forrest Gump, Sheriff Woody, and Walt friggin’ Disney, this may be his defining role. If that’s not high praise, then I don’t know what is.

Hanks completely embodies the uncynical wholesomeness of the seemingly infallible Rogers. No other actor would be worthy to don the red sweater.

For those going in expecting a biopic, this isn’t that. Surprisingly, Fred Rogers isn’t even the protagonist of the story. That honor goes to Lloyd Vogel, played by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans). That’s all for the better, as Rogers is a static and unwavering beacon of perfection. While that is certainly something to aspire to in real life, it doesn’t make for a very captivating lead character in a film. As funny as it may sound, Mister Rogers is the antagonist of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. This may be a little inside baseball, but contrary to popular belief, “antagonist” and “villain” are not synonymous. The antagonist is simply the foil that bucks up against the protagonist.

Lloyd Vogel is a jaded and cynical journalist working for Esquire magazine. He’s a serious journalist; one who's out to expose those who hide their personal demons behind the curtain of fame. When his editor gives him an assignment to write what would essentially amount to a puff-piece on American icon Fred Rogers, Vogel is extremely reluctant. This is his job though, so he packs his bags, leaves his wife and newborn son behind in their modest New York apartment, and heads down to Pittsburgh, the filming location for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

It’s here that he gets his initial interview with Fred Rogers, and tries to decipher who Fred Rogers the person is, rather than Mister Rogers, the character he portrays on television. Vogel, of course, suspects that the Mister Rogers persona is an act. How can it not be? Everyone has skeletons in their closet. No one is that wholesome. No one is that perfect.

Great conflict always arises when two opposites are forced to come together, and you’d be hard-pressed to find two characters with more opposing worldviews.

I’m not gonna lie, for about three quarters of the movie, I had a giant lump in my throat that no amount of Smartwater could wash down. This film had a tremendously profound emotional effect on me. It was like a two hour therapy session. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but one that never gets too low. It was an extremely cathartic experience. For anyone who’s ever felt immense sadness, loss, despair, anger, bitterness, or hopelessness, you need to see this film. If you have a single ounce of humanity within you, this film is bound to make you feel something.

I consider myself to be a pretty cynical person. I saw a lot of me reflected in the character of Lloyd Vogel. I identify with him in many ways, but I always try to let my guard down when it comes to movies (well, good movies, anyway) because I believe that, when it’s at its best, film is the most honest way to look into the human soul. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood epitomizes that philosophy in an earnest way that doesn’t beat you over the head with self-righteous messages.

Spoilers Ahead

Hanks manages to capture Rogers’ genuine kindness and gentle nature in a way that’s sweet, yet sincere.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood got off to a slow start, dragging a bit in the first act. Once Hanks’ Rogers and Rhys’ Vogel finally met face to face though, it was nothing short of electric from then on. On the outside, Lloyd Vogel seems to be just fine. He’s a moderately successful journalist for a well-known magazine, he has a beautiful and supportive wife who loves him, they have a brand-new baby boy, and he’s one of the very few people on Earth who can honestly say that he does what he loves for a living. It’s not a perfect life, but it looks damn close. On the inside though, he’s utterly broken. He strives to subscribe to the ludicrous ideal of traditional masculinity. It’s the man’s job to be stoic and never express what he’s feeling. This stems from his deadbeat father (played by the criminally underrated Chris Cooper) abandoning Lloyd and his sister as their mother lay dying of cancer.

Enter the indomitable Fred Rogers, who takes it upon himself to “fix” Lloyd. While on the surface, it’s Lloyd who’s there to interview Rogers, the tables get flipped rather quickly. While Rogers doesn’t like to be called “perfect” and especially not a “saint”, he comes off as the closest thing to it that a mortal human being is capable of attaining. (He’s certainly more saintlike than most actual saints.)

This film has two main themes: acceptance and forgiveness. Rogers has both in spades, while Lloyd has none. Watching the larger-than-life figure of Rogers methodically wear down the shell that Lloyd has built around himself as a defense mechanism is a marvel to watch unfold.

Lloyd eventually comes to realize that Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers are one and the same. There’s no mask, no pretense, and no facade. Rogers freely admits his faults and failings, which makes him all the more endearing. While his near-perfection isn’t exactly relatable, it’s undoubtedly inspiring. He not only fixes Lloyd, but his entire family. Lloyd manages to reconcile with his father just before his death, while also accepting that carrying his hate around will only wind up harming his own son. He breaks the cycle of anger and finds true happiness, all thanks to Fred Rogers.

This film does nothing to demystify the legend of Mister Rogers. If anything, it only enhances it. Like most Americans, I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS right after Sesame Street at my grandmother’s house. (She still had antennae TV with only seven channels, long after the advent of cable, but my childhood was better for it.) While A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a work of fiction inspired by a true story, it’s nice to know that Mister Rogers is immortalized on TV for generations to come. He’s a man that deserves to be remembered: the embodiment of caring, kindness, acceptance, and forgiveness.

5 Quick Hits

This is, for me, the most powerful cinematic moment of the year.

The “minute of silence” scene was the most powerful cinematic moment I’ve seen in a long time. It breaks all the rules of filmmaking. It’s always said that you have to keep up the pace, or risk losing your audience. It may not seem like it when you first think about it, but sixty seconds in a movie is a long time. Here we are though, for a full minute, just staring into the kind glint of Tom Hanks’ eyes as Matthew Rhys does some incredible acting without saying a word. There’s no swelling, cheesy music. It’s just two characters coming to the realization that Mister Rogers has completed his mission and convinced Lloyd to drop his cynicism and embrace his emotions. It goes to show that the absence of sound sometimes says the most. It was truly beautiful.
The frame story of this whole film being one long, twisted, extended episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was very cleverly done by the screenwriting team of Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. They also, strangely enough, are the team behind the disaster that was Maleficent 2, which I thoroughly lambasted on this site about a month ago. Hopefully their next project is closer to this film than that one.
Every establishing shot used the same cheaply-made model design utilized in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which was really cool. It gave the film a surreal feeling and stuck to the frame story of this just being an elongated and elaborate episode of the TV show.
Although Tom Hanks was the top-billed star here, I can see why he falls into the category of supporting actor. It wasn’t really a traditional “lead” and “supporting” dynamic between Hanks and Rhys, because Rhys was genuinely the main character. It was more like a “1 and 1A” than first and second lead.
Dream sequences are always tricky as a storytelling device and can easily be mishandled, but the ones used here were flawless. This film is all about Vogel embracing his inner demons, rather than suppressing them, and there was no better way to depict that visually than through the powerful and surreal mental journey he went through.