Saving Mr. Banks

'Saving Mr Banks' should have been a sentimental endeavour towards a magical journey with Walt Disney. Sentimental, yes but what we are faced with was magical for another reason. Alison Owen's Ruby Films gave us no gimmicks, no attempt at wowing the audience with anything other than narrative. Yet still, we are transfixed.

Honestly, the narrative was a little slow in places and not short of a little repetitive however, there were enough small moments in the film that allowed us once again to be pulled in just as our line began to unreel slightly. 

For example, a particular favourite was when Mrs. Travers (Emma Thompson) and her driver  (Paul Giamatti) sit together on the grass of Disney's studios, after she has gathered sticks, leaves and stones. Together they forget the boundaries of adulthood and for a moment, indulge in a little childhood make believe as they build a stream and a shelter for imaginary tiny beings, as Ginty did as a child. We are at last, granted access to the intrinsic emotions and motive of our driver and indeed Mrs. Travers and it moves us profoundly. We learn of the driver's greatness as a father and in a film where successful fatherhood is lacking, it becomes a beautiful thing. We learn that his daughter is disabled, and that he is completely dedicated to encouraging her that any dream she may have, is within her reach. Suddenly all those times he listened to Mrs. Travers' abruptness and shook it off with a smile, seem bursting with inner strength.

We cannot forget the strength of the performance from Emma Thompson either. At first we think her dry and abrupt; it is hard for us to connect. Yet, as we witness those moments of her past that trigger this persona, we begin to understand exactly what the title 'Saving Mr. Banks' truly represents. As a child, she was extremely fond of her father as he hid his alcoholism from her. As he pleads with her on his death bed for more drink, our young protagonist gives in to her love for her father and gives it to him. It is this moment that defines her adulthood, the feeling of responsibility for her fathers death, the arrival of her aunt to support them in their mourning as she fails to save Mr Banks - Ultimately the loss of her childhood. The performance from Emma Thompson reflects this injury throughout the picture, as we witness falling tears, fierce insults and moments of desolation from other humans (a particular favourite is when she embraces a rather large sized Mickey Mouse). 

Tom Hanks is his usual self, proclaiming riddling statements and performing odd gestures by the minute. It is not a stand out performance within his career but he captures Walt Disney's character well as jumps around on fairground roundabouts in attempt to win Mrs. Travers' affection for his own vision. We are enlightened to Disney's need to include animation in the Mary Poppins motion picture as a way of breaking from the restrictions of his childhood as he would walk through the snow to deliver his fathers newspapers. He is, rather, living his childhood all over again, through his career.

The double-act of the Sherman brothers were two other characters we were ready to adore. Their enthusiasm for trying to win over Mrs. Travers to their songs and their excitement at making up new words, saw us drift into a comfortable humour that made it all the more entertaining when Mrs. Travers refuses to compromise once again. The rolling of eyes, the  delivery of sarcastic remarks, relentless hours of work, the never-ending effort that they put in to convince Mrs. Travers of the magic that could unfold with their music, all points towards an undying need for both characters and audience, for Mrs. Travers to lighten up and love it! When the moment finally comes, it comes in the form of the finale as 'Mr Banks' fixes his children's kite. Mr. Banks, has been saved, and so has his creator. We watch joyfully as Mrs. Travers waltzes around the room with Don DaGradi and the brothers. 




The flashbacks we witness are well executed and much needed in a narrative which doesn't really lend itself to tension. It answers our questions, it allows us to forgive our protagonist from being so removed from magic and exploration. It also allows us to understand the attachment she has with the characters within the book, that are, in effect, fictional versions of herself and her own family. We find ourselves devastated with embarrassment for the family when Mr Banks (Colin Farrell) appears as a spokesman at a local fair, drunk. He leans on his daughter for support, before falling from the stage in a stupor. We feel the burning eyes, hear the judgemental whispers and feel wholeheartedly for his wife as she watches on. Colin Farrell plays the father role perfectly. You can almost see the inner pain engraved on every expression as he pleads with his daughter to be happy, simultaneously dreaming of his next drink and feeling the pang of addiction so strong it seems to hit him clean in the face. It is a wonderful performance from him.

The moment that warmed me completely to the film was another encounter with our friend the driver. As Mrs. Travers leaves to return to England, she turns to ask his name (first name terms make Mrs. Travers rather uncomfortable). He replies 'Ralph' and with that she gives him a gift for his daughter proclaiming that each and every person within the gift was hindered in some way, and they became the greatest minds of our time. She tells him to pass on to her, that she may do anything she wishes.

As her own father lay on his death bed, he told her that her poem was not one of greatness. In one moment, when his daughter wanted only encouragement, reassurance in her fathers character, he failed her. She lives with this her whole life and 'Mary Poppins', whether she realises it or not, is her ticket towards forgetting it. 

'Saving Mr Banks' may not have explosions, car chases or even flying nanny's. What it does have however, is character. You cannot help but chuckle at the revelation of including made-up words, of the pursuing of animated ducks, with the arguments over cakes and moustaches but most of all, at that gratifying feeling you get at the end, when Mrs. Travers finally overcomes her fear and attends the premiere of what will always be, a film about her own family.

A film about fathers and daughters - dedicated to producer Alison Owens' late father and it is most definitely worth a watch!

All image rights are owned by Ruby Film & Television in association with Walt Disney Pictures.