Review: Saving Mr. Banks

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★½

Did you know “Mary Poppins” was nominated for 13 Academy Awards including Best Picture? As a self professed Oscar guru, I must admit that I wasn’t aware it was up for so many awards. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise seeing as its one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time. “Saving Mr. Banks” tells the story of how the rights for the book were acquired by Disney from the stubborn author. It also tells us what it is that makes the author so stubborn in the first place by looking into her childhood and the relationship with her father. By the way, “Mary Poppins” lost to “My Fair Lady” for Best Picture that year, but Julie Andrews won Best Acrtress.

Tom Hanks attempts to woo Emma Thompson in "Saving
Mr. Banks"

Pamela “P.L.” Travers (Emma Thompson) lives alone in her London house. It’s been almost 30 years since she published her hit novel Mary Poppins and Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has been trying to make it into a movie for the last 20. Mrs. Travers has never signed the rights away because she hates Disney Animation films and doesn’t want see her beloved character transformed into a singing and dancing buffoon.

At the insistence of her agent, she agrees to fly to Los Angeles to meet with Disney himself and oversee some of the pre-production work. She has final approval of everything that goes into the script. She’s picked up at the airport by a Disney Studios driver, Ralph (Paul Giamatti) and taken to the studios where she meets with screenwriter Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford) and the Sherman Brothers songwriting team Robert (B.J. Novak) and Richard (Jason Schwartzman). She sees the concepts for the art direction, the costume design, the goofy music with made up words, and worst of all: the concept drawings of a mustached Dick Van Dyke as Mr. George Banks. A lot of work needs to be done in order to get her to sign the rights over to Disney.

During her stay, Mrs. Travers reflects on her childhood in Australia in 1901. She loved her father Travers Goff (Colin Farrell) very much. He lovingly referred to her as Ginty (portrayed in these flashbacks by newcomer Annie Rose Buckley). Travers moved his family from one side of the continent to the other where he will work as a bank manager. He’s also a raging alcoholic, something he tries to hide from Ginty (unsuccessfully) but not from his wife Margaret (Ruth Wilson). These flashback scenes give us a great indication of where Mrs. Travers developed the idea of Mary Poppins. It’s made even more obvious when Ginty’s Aunt Ellie (Rachel Griffiths) shows up to help out when things aren’t going so well for the family. 

“Saving Mr. Banks” is much more than just a typical movie about making movies. It’s being advertised as the untold story of making “Mary Poppins,” but what we really get is the untold story of how the character and the book came into existence. “Saving Mr. Banks” is at its most entertaining when it involves Mrs. Travers and Disney, but it’s at its best during the Australian childhood scenes.

The best scenes take place between Annie Rose Buckely and
Colin Farrell

The screenplay comes from Kelly Marcel (who created the short lived Fox show “Terra Nova”) and Sue Smith (who has many small credits to her name) and it’s one of the most polished screenplays of the year. The most difficult part was tying in the present day and flashback sequences together so the flow of the plot wasn’t disrupted. They’ve succeeded in that regard. We also know how this movie is going to end before it even starts since we know there is a movie made by Disney called “Mary Poppins.” Despite that, the story is full of many different subplots (especially the Australian plot) to keep us entertained and keep curiosity piqued. All this is handled well by director John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”).

Not only does Hancock see that this story moves along without issues, he also directs his cast into fine performances. Tom Hanks is the perfect pick to play Disney. Disney was a beloved Hollywood figure at that time, and Hanks is arguably the most beloved actor. He’s not on camera a whole lot throughout the movie, but he’s great when he does make an appearance.

Colin Farrell leads the way in the Australian plot and probably clocks more screen time than Hanks. This isn’t the first drama Farrell has done, but I’m not sure he’s ever been better. Hanks and Thompson seem to overshadow his performance – and he doesn’t even appear in the previews on TV – but he still puts on an absolutely brilliant performance. His young co-star, Annie Rose Buckley, steals the show at many times too. She helps us to understand why Mrs. Travers is the way that she is.

An Oscar nod is a pretty safe bet for Emma Thompson

In the end, this is Emma Thompson’s movie and she’s sensational in this role. Her character is very unlikeable from the moment the film begins. She’s not easy to root for, which makes it a challenge for both Thompson and Hancock. The script does leave her rather unlikable for almost the entire duration of the film, which is kind of disappointing. Unlikable characters aren’t so easy to empathize with. But it works here thanks to the flashback sequences. Buckley’s wide-eyed innocence and admiration for her father help us to understand Thompson’s sour outlook on just about everything. She becomes someone you can empathize with, and that’s what makes her a good character.

“Saving Mr. Banks” is simple and lovable. Fans of “Mary Poppins” will enjoy seeing how difficult it was to actually make this movie thanks to Mrs. Travers’ stubbornness. Fans of the movie making process will enjoy seeing another movie about these things are put together. And fans of great movies should appreciate almost everything else about this. A strong story and fantastic performances make “Saving Mr. Banks” one of the year’s best movies.