2/03/2014

The Review: Saving Mr Banks


It must have been about a year or so ago that the announcements of Saving Mr Banks, a film chronicling the story of PL Travers and Walt Disney during the pre-production phases of Mary Poppins was made. Suffice to say I was quite excited about this film. It combines three of my favourite things; Emma Thompson, Disney and Mary Poppins. When I got around to seeing this in the cinema I was not disappointed and to be honest I had very high expectations. This film is brilliant and the story within a story was not what I expected at all. It really changes your perspective on Mary Poppins and her humble beginnings.

Saving Mr Banks takes place in two different time periods. The first is set in Australia in the early 1900s with a young PL Travers and her family. It centres around her childhood and you see where some of her early inspirations for Mary Poppins originated and where her imagination and creativity stem from. The second takes place around 1960-61 in Los Angeles. PL Travers was flown in by Disney where she attended a series of meetings with the Mary Poppins creative team and Disney himself. It was not only an opportunity for Disney to hopefully secure the rights to the film, but also for Travers to offer creative input to the scripting, songwriting and even in some cases the casting. 


Having a movie within a movie can often work against films but in this case it really works in its favour. This seems to be because the blending of the two stories is done so seamlessly. There are also subtleties you'll notice between the two time periods and the final film which are all really cleverly done. For instance, PL Travers' character arrives in Los Angeles with a floral carpet bag, Mary Poppins has a carpet bag in the Disney film and then her Aunt back in Australia arrives at their homestead with a carpet bag as well. Minor plot points are introduced in the Los Angeles scenes which are then expanded upon in the backstory set in Australia as well. 



In case it wasn't obvious I think this film is brilliant on many levels. The casting is fantastic firstly. Emma Thompson is amazing as PL Travers. While she's playing such a cold woman she brings a lightness to the role which makes you really connect with the character more. Colin Farrell as PL Travers' father in the childhood story was fantastic as well. The script is really well written also. You will laugh, you will cry, and you'll definitely change the way you next watch Mary Poppins. Side note-If you're prone to getting a bit teary in films, wear waterproof mascara before seeing this and pack some tissues. You will thank me later.

Saving Mr Banks is still playing in some countries overseas but if you're in New Zealand it opens this Thursday.

6 comments:

  1. I loved this film! Emma Thompson is definitely one of my favourite actresses :) I actually made the connection between Mary Poppins bag and PL Travers bag (not often I do that), but didn't see the aunts. I love those subtle connections that are made in movies.

    Caitlin | Oceanic Stars

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma Thompson's brilliant is she? Haha maybe I have just seen Mary Poppins one too many times but there's so many subtle bits & pieces they add in to the film. It's so clever! x

      Delete
  2. Eeep! I am super excited to see this film! It looks so fantastic. Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Britney I think you'd like it-from a technical/filmmaker's viewpoint as well. x

      Delete
  3. I loved that movie so much. I love Emma Thompson, she never dissapoints,
    I also liked that the movie has some comedy bits, it's genius.
    Lovely blog btw :)
    www.laviedelore.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Completely agree with all the above. Thanks-your blog is awesome too! S xo

      Delete