A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Movie Review

The following is an article “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” by Marc Primo.

Release date: 22 November 2019 (USA)

Director: Marielle Heller

Language: English

Production Companies: TriStar Pictures, Tencent Pictures, Big Beach

Producers: Youree Henley, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Leah Holzer

People will watch a movie about Mister Rogers as the good reviews that 2018’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor documentary from Morgan Neville proved. But what’s more certain than that is how people will embrace a film when you put an A-lister like Tom Hanks in the lead role.

However, making A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood has its own challenges, particularly in how it can build up cinematic tension when tackling such a wholesome character like Fred Rogers.

Of course, audiences know that part of the appeal is its nostalgia, complete with the colorful set, the catchy opening tune, and Roger’s genuine charismatic way on camera which made the half-hour television program survive for an impressive 31 seasons. But why watch another life story narrative about our favorite children’s show host when the documentary already captured his very essence on and off cam? You’ll be surprised at just how many reasons there are why you should still give this one 109 minutes of your life.

Directed by Marielle Heller who has recently made a string of blockbuster outings as a film director with 2015’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl and the brilliant Can You Ever Forgive Me in 2018, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood uses smart scripting, impeccable casting, and a fresh style that all bring something very familiar from the past a sense of relevance to today’s times. Short to say that even as adults, we can all learn something valuable about kindness from Mr. Rogers.

Every detail is carefully thought out from the scoring to the stylish execution of scenes that even the real Mr. Rogers would have admired. That crude Pittsburgh set where the shows are shot blends well with Hanks's singing of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” in that unassuming yet inviting voice, tossing his loafers for sneakers as he sits down for another round of educational fun. That alone is more than enough to glue viewers to the screen. But there’s more to the film than spot-on sentimentalities.

Matthew Rhys plays Esquire journalist Lloyd Vogel (based on the real-life Tom Junod) who is doing a piece about Mr. Rogers with not only a shade of skepticism about the host’s true off cam persona but also an unconscious self-loathing that slowly creeps up to his personal life. What happens next is a friendship that ushers in a valuable realization in Vogel-- that we are capable of making the world a better place no matter what the past gave us. This realization however, doesn't come without the suppressed anger he’s bottled up throughout his life.

With Heller’s effective way of forging an undeniable chemistry between two somewhat polar opposites onscreen, audiences can mirror themselves to Vogel’s critical perspective of Rogers without dismissing the true nature of the latter’s legend. Heller’s cinematic vision of mixing the low-tech set designs from the studio with the lives we follow onscreen allows audiences to drift in and out of Mr. Rogers TV world and into reality. The difference between both is also where Vogel serves as our Dante’s Virgil.

And what else is there to say about Hanks but brilliant? It does make sense that one of Hollywood’s good guys was tapped for the lead role as there would have been only a few tweaks to apply in terms of his portrayal of the legendary children’s show host. But Hanks does put in some of his own brand into the role to make the film’s Mr. Rogers more unique than the Fred we know from the screen by adding more thought and sincerity in his real-life dealings.

There are also no forced tearjerkers here nor generational preaching, and kudos goes to screenwriters Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster for sparing us of tired-old cliches and instead giving us something to laugh about at even the most emotional moments.

With its engaging narrative, great casting, and effective technical executions, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood sets itself apart from the 2018 documentary. This one is more heartfelt in a way that those who are also meeting Mr. Rogers for the first time can still enjoy while giving other directors a refresher on what audiences really need from a feel good film.

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