'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood' Review

Nominated For: Best Supporting Actor; Tom Hanks.

Synopsis: A journalist's life is enriched by friendship when he takes on an assignment profiling Fred Rogers.

Runtime: 108 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for some strong thematic material, a brief fight, and some mild language)

Who should see it? Fans of Mister Rogers and Tom Hanks.

Based on the real-life friendship between journalist Tom Junod and television star Fred Rogers, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is directed by Marielle Heller and features a screenplay from Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue. Last year I was introduced to Mister Rogers via Won't You Be My Neighbor? and, within ninety minutes, completely endeared by his kindred spirit. I didn't review it since I watched it amid the crowded 2018 awards season, but Heller's second feature Can You Ever Forgive Me? had a similar effect on me concerning her ability. When I heard Heller would be directing a film starring Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers, I knew a delightful moviegoing experience was in store.

As one might imagine, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is a suitable companion piece to Won't You Be My Neighbor? However, audiences should take note that Mister Rogers isn't the main subject of Heller's film and that it's a fictional account based on truth. Matthew Rhys' character Lloyd Vogel is loosely based on real-life journalist Tom Junod who covered Mister Rogers for Esquire, and he is the story's protagonist. Though Rogers is a crucial supporting presence, the narrative is centered around Lloyd reconciling his troubled emotional state and complicated relationship with his estranged father. Lloyd's encounters with Fred Rogers on assignment cause him to reexamine his cynicism.

Heller frames the account as an episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" complete with music, miniatures, puppets, and Rogers occasionally speaking directly to the audience. The filmmakers also carefully consider the public perception of Mister Rogers, debunking the absurd fabrications and preserving his wholesome image. Mister Rogers is depicted as a man with an overwhelming amount of empathy. He's shown for who he was. Genuine but not imperfect. Heller, Harpster, and Fitzerman-Blue even seem to contemplate whether his public persona was a facade through Vogel's point of view. Perhaps, what I admired most of all, was that Heller didn't shy away from portraying Rogers as a man of faith. And, in doing so, she didn't oversimplify or overcomplicate religious ideology as Hollywood often can. 

Front and center, Matthew Rhys and Tom Hanks lend a pair of remarkable performances. Rhys plays Lloyd Vogel as a calloused journalist humanized by underlying insecurities while Hanks is quite comfortable in the red cardigan, embodying Fred Rogers' upstanding essence without falling into the trappings of an imitation. Meanwhile, Chris Cooper and Susan Kelechi Watson provide notable supporting turns as Lloyd's deadbeat dad and steadfast wife, respectively.

Though the story is simple and lacks the expected emotional wallop, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is a pleasant 108 minutes at the cinema. In a world full of so much hatred and bitter resentment, Marielle Heller offers an escape that's warm, compassionate, and full of heart. Hopefully, audience members will be inspired to follow suit.

Film Assessment: A-