As soon as it began -- much like the famed show we loved as children -- I knew this movie was going to be special. It starts with an intro overlooking miniatures and that silly, lilting piano tune that makes you feel instantly young. Helpful, too, is the repeated cinematographic techniques; according to one source, the filmmakers here used some of the same cameras and monitors used on the original show to re-create the magic. And while all these technical aspects are amazing, they by no means cheat the film of its real substance.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is the story of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, it's true, but not in a way you might expect. Taking its inspiration from the Esquire cover story of the supposed hero protagonist, this film actually centers on Lloyd Vogel, the writer of that article, whose life is forever changed by the unlikely celebrity. Vogel (a thankless role played skillfully by Matthew Rhys) is introduced to us almost immediately as a sort of case study by Rogers: he will be the theme of this episode, you might say, and he will be tested in matters of love, family, and forgiveness. But when we see his picture on Rogers's pictureboard, bloodied and gaunt, we know his tests will be hard to watch.
When we are, eventually, thrust into Vogel's story, we learn that he has alienated himself from his father (Chris Cooper) and seems to cope with his disillusioned worldview by crafting a career in scathing, cynical journalism. When he is suddenly assigned a puff piece in national heroes -- you guessed it, to interview Fred Rogers -- he is incredulous. Even his wife Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson) quietly begs him not to "ruin her childhood," knowing full well what kind of dirt he might try to dig up. But he doesn't know Fred Rogers. Not yet.
Upon their meeting, Rogers (an immaculate Tom Hanks, who brilliantly tries to embody the man rather than imitate him) is every bit the hero we know him to be. Pensive and reflective, he often ends up questioning his interviewer more than answering his questions. He exhibits kindness and curiosity, empathy and gentleness to the point of making Vogel angry and irritable as he sees his own brokenness. When he finally suggests to his subject that Rogers likes him because he is broken, there's an uncanny moment of shock and sadness on Rogers' face. Later, when Rogers asks a dying man to pray for him and rationalizes it to Vogel -- any man going through that trial has to be close to God -- we get a startlingly clear portrait of what Rogers is really all about.
And that's the greatest triumph of Marielle Heller's latest film. Not in its ability to recreate the man or the show -- though it does so flawlessly, especially in one haunting and hilarious dream sequence -- but in its insight in dramatizing the ways the Neighborhood show can and did affect us all. We see how simply being around Rogers helped Vogel change his life; technically the film supports this, as their scenes together often feature unnatural light sources shining on Vogel in stark contrast to his solo scenes when he is doused in shadow. We see how Rogers himself is affected by his own love for others and how he quietly refuses to view himself as a hero. When Vogel speaks with Rogers's wife, she stops Vogel from calling her husband a saint, saying that he isn't perfect and that sainthood is often viewed as something impossible for normal people to achieve. But the way Rogers lived is in fact totally attainable by all of us, and the final call to action in this film is for us to realize that potential.
This one was surprising, not because it was great (which it was), but because of how it went about it. I expected a solid but ultimately cliched biopic of Rogers and we ended up getting so much more. Ironically enough, the film wasn't really about Rogers so much as it was about Vogel and his transformation from a bitter man to an individual far more at peace with himself and others in his life. A life, may this film remind us, that isn't eternal. Say hi to your neighbor for me.
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