A journalist's life is enriched by friendship when
he takes on an assignment profiling Fred Rogers. Based on the real-life
friendship between journalist Tom Junod and television star Fred Rogers.
Director: Marielle Heller
Cast: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Genres: Biography, Drama
Rated PG for some strong thematic material, a brief fight, and some mild
language
Runtime: 1h 48min
Review:
It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood isn’t the Fred Rodgers biopic you might expect. His character is mostly a secondary player but the film does a solid job of capturing the epitome of his spirit. Marielle Heller’s film is a subtle but a well crafted tale that uses some wonderful visual and framing devices to really capture the feel of a Mr. Rodgers episode. At the center of the film is Matthew Rhys who delivers a fine performance. Rhys carries the air of a broken man from the beginning of the film. Ultimately, this movie is about his story and how his interactions with Rodgers helped him identify his personal pain and grow into a better person. There’s nary a question that nobody could play Mr. Rodgers except Tom Hanks. Hanks brings his own inherent likeability to the role and it would have been easy to just coast through his performance based off of just that. Thankfully Hanks doesn’t do that and the film is so much better for it. It’s a showcase of subtly as he uses vocal inflections and mannerisms to channel Rodgers. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the film perks up every time he shows up on screen. It’s wonderful performance that leaves you wishing he’d been a bigger focus of the film as a whole.
B+
