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| Image courtesy of Sony Pictures. |
It's hard not to love Mr. Rogers - not just for the ways in which he talks matter-of-factly to children about such heavy topics as death and war and helps them find methods of channeling their anger or hurt into something constructive, but also in how radical his show was at the time it premiered in 1968. One of his most famous episodes involved him inviting an African American friend to bathe his feet in the same tub as Mr. Rogers at a time when a number of corners of the United States were still segregating pools. That's not referenced here, but Vogel comes to realize pretty quickly during his interviews for the Esquire piece that Rogers is the real deal.
Marielle Heller's "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" is set up like an episode of a Mr. Rogers show. He waltzes in singing his theme song, takes off his shoes and dons his red cardigan. He displays a picture board with photos of friends - one of whom is Lloyd - and talks about the fact that his friend has a problem. This sequence is, of course, in the realm of fantasy, but it sets up Vogel's dilemma. By the way, did I mention that Mr. Rogers is a supporting character, and that the film is centered around Vogel's new fatherhood and distant relationship with his previously absent father (Chris Cooper)?
As the film opens and Vogel gets his Esquire assignment - he doesn't take well to writing about a "smarmy children's show host" - Vogel is on his way with his wife, Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson), to his sister's third wedding (some good jokes are to be had on this matter). There, he runs into his father, who's drunk as usual, and fisticuffs ensue. Feeling pretty low, Vogel heads to Pittsburgh with his assignment of interviewing Rogers.
From the start, he finds the TV personality disarming. For starters, Rogers not only gives rather candid answers, but he also questions Vogel about his own life, and listens intently. Vogel isn't too pleased about this at first, but he eventually rolls with it. There's a moment in which Vogel is attempting to get behind the mask, so to speak, of whom he believes Rogers to be, only to find that the man is exactly the same person in the flesh as he is on TV. Rogers tells him that he tries to get children to find ways to cope with life's harsh elements by finding ways to channel their anger and frustration - whether it's swimming laps (which Rogers does himself) or pounding the low keys on a piano.
Heller, whose previous film was the hilariously melancholic "Can You Ever Forgive Me?", once again focuses her lens on a troubled soul - Vogel, that is, not Rogers. Her latest film has a really great final sequence involving Rogers shooting an episode of his TV show, and then sitting down at the piano. What he does while playing speaks to the fact that even the kindest of souls might have their own demons, and need ways to keep them at bay.
Rhys, who was so great on "The Americans," really carries the film in the lead role, and Hanks is, not surprisingly, very good as Rogers - although he doesn't look like him, what other actor could inhabit the man's inherent kindness and patience better than Hanks?
While last year's lovely documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" got to the heart of who Rogers was, and was a tearjerker in its own right, Heller's film uses the character of Mr. Rogers to show how adults can continue to learn by putting themselves in children's shoes and remembering how they felt at a young age - a piece of advice that Rogers imparts to Vogel during their interview. This is a cathartic film about kindness and understanding at a time when our world could use a little more of both.
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