Saving Mr. Banks originally looked like it would be a fun romp that would be Exhibit A for why one should never involve a writer in the moviemaking process. Writers are nothing but problems as they tend to be emotionally attached to the material. The trailers promise a fun look at the moviemaking process with a difficult collaborator. The trailers also hint at something deeper, but they are a little vague, and this criminally undersells what is a very good film.
The movie is about the making of Mary Poppins. It tells the story about the difficult relationship that Walt Disney (played by Tom Hanks) had with author P.L. Travers (amazingly portrayed by Emma Thompson. This is probably one of her best performances to date.) . Because of a promise he made to his daughters, he tried for 18 years to get P.L. Travers to sell him the rights to make a movie version of her series of books about our favorite nanny from England. Because of financial troubles, Travers finally relents and tries to work with Disney's screenwriters and songwriters to make the film. Disney give her unprecedented control over how her creation would be portrayed onscreen. She is given final say in both the screen as well as all aspects of production. She is constantly worried that Disney will turn Mary Poppins into a syrupy musical devoid of any substance. She constantly criticizes every aspect of the production and generally makes herself as much as a nuisance as possible. As the movie progresses, we get parallel storylines with what is happening in Hollywood and Travers' life growing up with her alcoholic father. We find that she wrote the book as an homage to her father, and that despite the series being very whimsical, there is much deeper and personal meanings to her, and this is why she is pushing back so hard.
The reason to see this movie is not really for the story, although it is quite entertaining. The real reason to see this movie is to see Emma Thompson's performance. I am going to make another early Oscar call and say that she will get Best Actress for 2013 for this performance. I have rarely seen such a nuanced performance from anyone. The reason I gave this 3 stars is that the Travers' motivations are a little vague. Some of the vagueness may have been a victim of post-production cuts, but it matters little because Thompson gives so much into this performance. This a good movie for adults, but is not really a family flick. If you are thinking that it is going to be a backstory on how Mary Poppins came to be, you will be disappointed. Although that is a very important part of the movie, it is not the most compelling part. The compelling story is what happened with Travers and her father and how she has internalized the sadness, anger and guilt over the years through her character.
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