A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It was a movie about Mr. Rogers so how could I not go see it? From birth until about the age of ten Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street were my primary T.V. programs. Sure, they were supplemented at times by Reading Rainbow, Romper Room, and other PBS shows, but Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street were the staples.

I was expecting a biopic but we got something a little different. Instead of a movie about Mr. Rogers' life from beginning to end, we got a vignette about Mr. Rogers' positive affect on a journalist named Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys).

This movie is more suited for those of us that grew up watching Mr. Rogers. Not that younger viewers can't appreciate the movie, but there won't be the same connection. The moment I saw the low resolution camera shot of his set I felt warm and comfortable as though I was child again watching Mr. Rogers in the comfort of my living room. The nostalgic effect it had on me was worth the price of admission.

The movie moves slow and the conflict in it is tame when compared to other dramas, but potential viewers can be comfortable in knowing that this movie does nothing to sully the good name of Mr. Rogers. If anything, this movie will give viewers a better feeling about the soft spoken sage. There are some humorous moments and some deep moments, but I think every moment was a teaching moment. So, now at age 40+ I found myself listening to the soothing monotone wisdom of Mr. Rogers through the voice of Tom Hanks.

The Mr. Rogers movie isn't about Mr. Rogers.

It's a story about a man named Lloyd. It's story of how Lloyd met Mr. Rogers, became his friend, and how Mr. Rogers saved Lloyd's life.

Lloyd's life wasn't in danger in the literal sense. Lloyd didn't have a terminal illness for Mr. Rogers to cure. Lloyd didn't have suicidal thoughts for Mr. Rogers to quell. Lloyd's life was in danger in a different sense. He was in danger of losing himself and the things he cared about most.

"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" tells the story of how Mr. Rogers helped Lloyd mend his psychological fractures and face the demons that had haunted him since his childhood. Through their relationship, we get a peek behind the curtain of the impact that Mr. Rogers had on the lives of the people he met on a daily basis. He helped many children, of course, but he also helped adults too.

Some viewers may fret over Mr. Rogers' limited screen time in the film and the focus on Lloyd. I disagree. The time we spend with Mr. Rogers is plenty revealing and impactful. Lloyd is a sensible character on which to build a story, because he has glaring flaws and a development arc. The great legacy of Mr. Rogers is all the lives he touched and the good he gave the world. Lloyd's story provides a wonderful example.

Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers is every bit as perfect as anyone would have guessed. He doesn't try to overplay it by doing an impression, mocking Rogers' body language and the like. What he does is find a way to capture the essence of Mr. Rogers, the beacon of positivity he became. The teacher. The friend. The nicest man in the world.

That doesn't mean Mr. Rogers is perfect. He's not an angel born to be kind. He works on being kind every day. Only through consistent effort and intentionality of goodness does Mr. Rogers achieve his rightfully earned reputation. He serves as an example to all of us that we too can be kind, and we too can live the lives we want to live.

It's perhaps the most inspirational and most important message we'll see at the movies all year.

This movie was honestly near perfection. The acting from everyone involved was amazing. Tom Hanks was born to play Mr Rogers. The emotional moments were perfect. This movie came out at the exact right time in our society. This is the exact movie we all need to watch right now about forgiveness and compassion. I absolutely loved it. It was just so so good. Both Mathew and Tom both deserve Oscar recognition for their phenomenal performance. I truly recommend this movie for everyone. It makes you think about yourself.

This didn't get much of a theatrical run here in the UK, and possibly gets lost in translation, as we don't really know much about Mr Rogers, whereas in the US he is a massive icon from people's childhoods.

On it's own merits though this is a good film, with two stellar performances from Rhys and Hanks.

A little slow in places, it does contain some wonderful messages, that stayed with me long after the credits rolled.

This may get a little personal, but I've been suffering from severe depression and have had a lot of issues dealing with anger, sadness and all for about five years now. For the past 8 years of my life, and earlier years of my childhood, I have loved Fred Rogers. He always told me and millions of children all over the world that he likes us just the way we are, and taught us the power of kindness, positive ways of thinking and dealing with our emotions, and while I'll always be a cynic by nature, I've always tried to take what he taught me and many others to heart. He was genuinely the kindest, most loving and compassionate human being to ever grace this Earth. But over the past year especially, I've stopped caring about my life with tragedy happening around me constantly, making me feel like my life was falling apart, as well as me having thoughts of suicide. I always put Mr Rogers on to give me some kind of motivation to keep going, but his messages that once resonated so deeply with me began to fade as I slipped further and further away from being "fine". I've gotten a lot better over the past few months though, not perfect but still, and when I heard that a movie starring Tom Hanks as Mr Rogers was being made I did all that I could to see it as fast as possible when it finally came out in the UK (which as of writing this, was yesterday).

The second this film started, the moment Hanks appeared and the music came on, I just completely melted. I almost audibly broke down into tears, but not with sadness, with joy and relief. I knew I was in for something that would grip me. This film is amazing. It focuses on the psychological healing and betterment of the protagonist, Lloyd, as Mr Rogers taps into his childhood and his feelings, the same way he tapped into the feelings of children back when his show was still on the air and back when I watched it a decade ago, and we get a powerful, touching tribute to this man and the impact he had on so many lives. Lloyd himself was not only well acted, but for me anyway I saw a bit of myself in him. Things like his strained relations with family, his overwhelming and blinding cynicism and his anger management are all things I dealt with at some point and still deal with today. So when the film took this character and and put him on this emotional journey to betterment and healing, it resonated so deeply with me that I began to feel as if I was a kid again, watching Rogers as he taught me how to deal with my own anger and to prioritise kindness, and for many people who saw this film, I feel like they experienced the same thing I did. And that's why this movie is so good. It has the same impact and kind-heartedness as Rogers' original show, but turned into an emotional, thoughtful and touching feature-length film that acts as the perfect tribute to Fred's legacy and life. At the end of the day though, the film, while an amazing tribute to Fred, isn't entirely about him. It's about how he saved the life of Lloyd, became one of his closest friends, and helped him heal his psychological wounds. And the perfect way to put this film is this: It's a film that celebrates the messages, kindness and life of Mr Rogers, that acts as a way to show the impact that he had on so many lives, and despite him not being in the film as much as Lloyd, who is the main protagonist of the film, his impact is felt throughout its entire runtime and in every single scene.

Other things as well, the blending of the old Mr Rogers sets with locations in the film was very creative and touching, the acting, especially from Hanks was incredible, the film was perfectly paced and while the score isn't anything to talk about, the parts that do use music are done very well and capture the feel of the scene. The editing might've been a little iffy at points, but that was mainly at the beginning of the film. Overall, it's probably my favourite movie of 2019, even if I did have to wait until 2020 to watch it. If you have not watched it yet, please do. It's absolutely phenomenal.