Saving Mr. Banks: BFI London Film Festival Closing Night Gala 2013

“Winds from the east... Mist coming in... Like something is brewing, about to begin... Can't put my finger on what lies in store... But I feel what's to happen, all happened before…”

The first words from P L Travers’ Mary Poppins as sung by the character Burt, in the 1964 Walt Disney Studio’s Production, are mirrored in the opening of Saving Mr. Banks. Colin Farrell’s voice is subtle and toned, giving these words new meaning, yet hinting at the magic we are all familiar with from the classic live action/animated movie. To those unfamiliar with this tale, Saving Mr. Banks lovingly recounts the events that led to the creation of Mary Poppins in the early 60s, and how Walt Disney had waited twenty long years to gain the rights to make the film from the character’s creator. And so it was that on Sunday 20th October 2013, the Moviegoer attended the Gala Premiere of Saving Mr. Banks, which also served as the closing of this year’s BFI London Film Festival. Having opened just thirteen days before with Tom Hank’s other major release of this fall ‘Captain Phillips’, the stars of the movie were met with thunderous applause as some returned once again to Leicester Square’s ODEON Theatre to close the festival.

The red carpet was littered with petals from the newly erected cherry blossoms, placed specifically to reflect those that were seen both in the movie and outside the opening premiere of Mary Poppins in 1964. Although the film’s premiere took place at the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the cherry blossoms were also in place when the film opened in the same theatre in Leicester Square nearly fifty years ago. It is no wonder perhaps that Tom Hanks’ most intimate line in the movie references the history of these events as he promises Emma Thompson’s P L Travers, that all audience members from Leicester Square to Kansas City will be moved by Mary Poppins. The night was truly magical, and full of rich history as audience members entered the theatre to witness a man playing a beautifully light organ with renditions of the Sherman brothers’ infamous tunes from the movie.

Although the red carpet hosted celebrity guests such as Mark Strong and Lilly Allen, the introduction to the film by BFI board members thanking the public for their support of the festival, and the film’s Director John Lee Hancock, was truly inspiring. As Hancock brought out various producers of the film, it was that of Ruth Wilson and Colin Farrell (the actors playing Travers’ parents) he praised the most, stating of Farrell:

“The next is a man I have known a long time, admired for a long time, loved for a long time. He fought to be in this movie almost as I hard as I fought to have him in this movie.” 

It was however, the main stars of the film that the audience cheered for the most. Hancock introduced Tom Hanks by describing just how committed to the project the actor was:

“Casting Walt Disney is hard, even when you’re just dealing with two weeks in 1961…immediately one name came to mind, and thankfully when I went and sat down with him he said “Do you love the script?” And I said, “Yes”, and he said “Were not gonna change it are we?” “No”, and he said, “You wanna shake on that?” 

 As Tom Hanks graced the stage, the crowed roared with cheer followed almost instantly by Emma Thompson who gave a short witty speech about her similarities to that of her character in the film:

“I know I have a microphone, and I don’t want you to panic, I’m not gonna waist your time by being grateful to anyone. There was just something my husband said this morning. “Isn’t it interesting that you’ve written and created a sort of magical nanny [referring to Nanny McPhee], and that your playing someone who has created and written a magical nanny. Do you suppose that means that behind every magical nanny there’s a cantankerous, difficult, opinionated…[laughter]”. So that was a good start to the day. And talking of cantankerous [pointing to hanks], Tom Hanks, I think personally that we should put him on the fourth plinth…”

Thompson’s portrayal of the Aussie born writer, who based the Banks family and Mary Poppins around her own family and childhood experiences, was exceptional, and Oscar worthy. Travers did not want her character to be turned into a “silly cartoon”, and fought the Disney Corporation for over twenty years. Walt Disney had made a promise to his children however, that he would make Mary Poppins fly off the pages of her books. The chemistry between Thompson’s traumatised and opinionated Travers against Hanks’ passionate and positive portrayal of Walt Disney, was beautiful to watch. At each turn, Disney pulls out all the stops to woo Travers into giving him the rights to make the film, and learns a hard lesson, that no amount of magic and flare can persuade someone to give up what they hold most dear. Enter the team that would eventually bring Mary Poppins to life, with: Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) portraying writer Don DaGradi, Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak playing Richard and Robert Sherman, and Paul Giamatti stealing the film with a heartfelt performance of Travers’ shofar Ralph, who eventually helps her to realise just how much love can prevail in times of hardship.

Having recently watched the 2009 documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story, Schwartzman and Novak’s portrayal of the two brothers responsible for breathing magical melody into Poppins was quite outstanding. The brothers were naturally talented, and served as the catalyst that persuaded Travers to give Disney the rights to make Mary Poppins a movie. Novak gave brother Robert (Bob) the serious edge that all who knew him described. He clashes with Thompson’s Travers throughout the film, whilst Schwartzman represents Richard (Dick) Sherman, in his almost naive and cheeky manner. In the documentary it was said that Walt Disney would often ask the boys to play him the song “Feed the Birds”, as it had always resonated with him. A beautiful scene takes place where Disney walks in on Richard Sherman playing the song for the first time. This scene pays homage to the relationship the boys had with him, which is further woven into the fabric of the film with many melodic nods to the boys’ music throughout the score by Thomas Newman.

Collin Farrell’s performance as Travers’ father was exceptional, as was the young Annie Rose Buckley who plays Travers at a young age learning to cope with her failing role model of a father in the outback of Australia. The film is beautifully scripted, and sequences jumping to and from the Disney studio in 1961, and Australia in Travers’ early days, gives the audience a sense of the chaos and confusion that the Mary Poppins writer must have felt during those two weeks. The film is ultimately about the character of Mr. Banks, and Farrell’s performance as Travers’ father gives the entire narrative meaning and emotion. The film enters cinemas November 29th, and is sure to have you laughing and crying in your seats as it takes you on a wonderful journey through the history of one of the most iconic films of the last fifty years.