Pick #2,010
Dir. Marielle Heller · China, United States of America · English
A touching biographical drama that will warm up the hearts of the harshest cynics out there
2019 Movie Drama, Family, History
Our take
Journalist LLoyd Vogel (Matthey Rhys) scoffs at the prospect of a profile commission, or a “puff piece”, as he calls it. His self-respect and professional ruthlessness has driven people away and this assignment may well be a test from his editor. But it is serendipity that brings Lloyd to American TV host Mister Roger (Tom Hanks) and his child-oriented show, at a time when he, a new father, is confronted with his own paternal trauma. No heavy psychological lifting here, but A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood might be one of the most profound films about father-son relationships ever made. Notably, the film is directed by a woman, Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl). In her film as in his show, Mister Roger doesn’t have to do much: he listens, he speaks, he suggests, and while his kindness may seem frustrating at times, it is truly radical. Additionally, Lloyd’s character is based loosely on writer Tom Junod, whose encounter with Rogers ended up a profile in Esquire magazine.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Oscars
1 nom
Golden Globes
1 nom
WGA
1 nom
The story
An award-winning cynical journalist, Lloyd Vogel, begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write an Esquire profile piece on the beloved television icon Fred Rogers. After his encounter with Rogers, Vogel's perspective on life is transformed.
Elsewhere
"It's a simply lovely story about the importance of optimism, the power of niceness and the virtue of knowing how to control and channel emotions into something useful."
— Tom Beasley
Based on the true story of the unlikely bond between a grumpy Esquire journalist (Matthew Rhys) and iconic TV person Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks).
The icon that Mister Roger was during the time his show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, ran between 1968 and 2001. A whole 33 years of unmatched devotion and an attitude full of softness can be condensed in two hours runtime by only one person in the world. You guessed it, that's Tom Hanks. If there ever was a perfect casting choice, this is it. Even if their physical appearances aren't as similar as one would expect from a biopic, you'll most likely finish the film convinced that Hanks is, indeed, Mister Roger. His work on the line delivery, the quiet and composed tone, the elastic cadences all build up a way more believable incarnation than any make up would. That said, in his performance, Hanks does manage to rearrange his facial mimics so that they match Fred Roger's welcoming grin and his focused look, the one that supposedly looks through the camera into the eyes of every single child watching his show.
The father of all comfort movies.
The details
Who picked it
Savina Petkova, PhD, is a Bulgarian film critic and curator based in London whose work has appeared in Sight and Sound, Variety, Little White Lies, Cineuropa, and MUBI Notebook. She is the Programming Lead for Cambridge Film Festival and a senior editor at Talking Shorts, with a focus on contemporary European cinema.
