It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood -- A Review

Tom Hanks and the real Mr. Rogers

This is absolutely the best movie I have seen in years. It is beautiful. It is a great relief to know that the real world is not limited to what we see in the news or in too many movies or on television. Like the real Mr. Rogers, this movie helps. 

First of all, let's be clear about this: This is NOT a children's movie. It celebrates imagination. It has music and lyrics, but it is not escapist entertainment. There is violence seen and unseen, but it is not a shock-and-awe noise fest. There is goodness and light, but as with real goodness and light, there is pain and shadow.

It is also not a biopic about Mr. Rogers. That's why Tom Hanks has been nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor. That and the fact that he does a really good job being Mr. Rogers.

Oh dear, oh dear. There is so much I would tell you about this movie. But, it truly is best if you see it for yourself. The writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster and director Marielle Heller have given us the great gift of a movie that is innovative, relevant, inspiring. It uses silences, music, thoughtfully slow-speed pacing, and our own memories to move us through anger to hope. Hollywood can make an artistically sound movie.

This is Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. And just like the real Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood you venture into reality through the Neighborhood of Make Believe. Pittsburgh, PA is beautifully portrayed by scale models, as is New York City, and, of course, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. There's Mr. Rogers' house. Remember it? The little one at the end of the street. Just as it was when you visited it as a child. Or, if you are like me, when you visited it with your child.

The movie begins "Hello, Neighbor." Mr. Rogers introduces us to his neighbor Lloyd Vogel.

This is Lloyd Vogel's story. He is an investigative reporter for Esquire magazine. (Which by-the-bye, you'll get to see how a magazine is made. This is, after all, Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. Remember when he took us to a graham cracker factory and showed us how graham crackers were made. And one time it was crayons. And blue jeans. And even zip-up cardigans like he always wore. But I digress.)

Yes, Lloyd Vogel is well-played by Matthew Rhys. He's a hard-bitten reporter looking for the truth about his subject. The real truth. The sordid underbelly truth. Having grown up in a dysfunctional family (Didn't we all, in our own family's way?) Vogel comes to his perceptions logically.  

But Lloyd Vogel's editor gives him an assignment -- profile Mr. Rogers for a series Esquire is running on American heroes. I would tell you why she chose to assign Mr. Rogers to Lloyd, but better you should discover it in the movie. It does make for some very funny moments as the cynical reporter tries to deal with the real Mr. Rogers. Oh the looks on Lloyd's face!

 And evocative moments when Mr. Rogers speaks to us, individually.

What's new in his life that sets Lloyd Vogel on this path with Mr. Rogers? Besides the work assignment, that is. His father comes back into his life. If that's not enough, Lloyd has a new baby. A new baby to whom Lloyd is giving an equal opportunity to grow up in a dysfunctional family. 

The overarching theme of the movie is Forgiveness, perhaps one of the hardest feelings to achieve. And feelings were what Mr. Rogers' life's work was spent helping us learn to deal with.

Feel free to sing along!

     "What do you do with the mad that you feel
     When you feel so mad you could bite?
     When the whole wide world seems oh, so wrong...
     And nothing you do seems very right?"

Or

     "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

     A beautiful day for a neighbor
     Would you be mine?
     Could you be mine?
     Won't you be my neighbor?"

Mr. Rogers, we love you, just the way you were.