Sentimentalized Biopic, but Affecting Nonetheless

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2013)

SAVING MR. BANKS tells the story of when author P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) went to Hollywood to negotiate with Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) about negotiating the film rights to MARY POPPINS. As she negotiates - often fruitlessly - with Disney's creative team, her mind flashes back to her childhood in Australia. Through such flashbacks we learn the extent to which MARY POPPINS is based on her autobiographical experiences. Thompson's performance is a memorable one; her reactions to Disney's idealized world are classic, especially when she repeats the words "No! No! No!" in tones that recall Margaret Rutherford. She is also vulnerable in an alien world, which pushes her towards a friendship with her driver Ralph (Paul Giametti). Hanks' Disney comes across as an avuncular personality with a penchant for getting what he wants, but not without a considerable degree of understanding. The portrait is an idealized one (apparently Disney was much more ruthless, and did not really get on with Travers at all), but works well within the overall film. There are sentimental moments, but the ending is particularly affecting, when the film juxtaposes clips from the 1964 version of MARY POPPINS with Travers' and Disney's reaction, as they watch the premiere in Hollywood.