Apparently Tom Hanks really wanted to do this biopic of TV icon Fred Rogers because he thought the world needs something positive right now. And I do agree with him. I also happen to love his work, in fact I don't think that I have ever seen anything by Hanks that I disliked - he always came across as a very nice, decent guy, sort of modern day James Stewart who back in his day was one of the most beloved Hollywood actors. There is something quintessentially good about Hanks and it makes perfect sense that he plays in a movie about somebody who was a good guy. Mind you, Mr.Rogers TV show has never been shown in my part of the world so the impact of his fame eludes me but I can imagine and understand he was somebody very much trusted and beloved, in fact movie makes a point that he patiently bore the weight of his celebrity in order to help the people around him. So, there is something unnervingly saintly about Mr.Rogers but the director Marielle Heller leave to the audience to decide is he a good guy or simply a professional who plays his act.
Making a biopic about somebody who is goodie-two-shoes might not really be a story worth two hours and here is where Heller decided to use her creative freedom and suddenly shifts the focus from Mr. Rogers to a journalist who interviews him - Matthew Rhys is actually very good as a troubled, broken journalist who initially approaches Mr. Rogers with suspicion, just to end up being a true believer. Unfortunately this is where I lost the patience with the movie itself - it slides into sentimental "message movie" (like that awful "Wrinkle in a time") and suddenly its all about forgiveness, emotions, tears and family drama where Tom Hanks/Mr. Rogers looks knowingly from a distance and his blank expression could be zillion different things, from saintly approval to menacing disapproval - its up to a viewer to decide. The whole family drama thing disturbs the balance of the movie so much that I found myself genuinely annoyed - why all of this patronising and why should he forgive alcoholic father who left Rhys when he was a little boy? Would forgiveness now make him somehow happy man? (The movie suggest it does) Well, I passionately disagree and not even Mr. Rogers could twist my arm to forgive somebody who was basically asshole my whole life, just because its his time to die now. I had this exact situation in my life and never, ever crawled, cried or forgave. The parent who had scarred little child for the rest of his life do not deserve any forgiveness or affections.
"They are like this" said my friend as we left the cinema. We laughed and giggled as I dared to mention that character of Mr. Rogers seems somehow like elderly Forest Gump - its iconic impact hanging like a curse above the rest of Tom Hanks work. In spite of all the warm-hearted reviews, I was a little bit disappointed. This was patronising and sentimental in a way that did not sit well with me at all. Movie directors used to be able to make you think without being obvious about it.
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