Critique of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (2019): A Movie Review

Everyone has different ways to feel. All of these feelings are good. Fred Rogers: It’s not what you feel, but how you act on them that matters. Based loosely on Tom Junod’s 1998 Esquire piece on Fred Rogers the children’s television personality, “Can You Say”? . . Hero?,” Marielle Heller’s (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?“) bittersweet A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a potent antidote to the widespread cynicism that pervades our culture of scientifically-sanctioned meaninglessness. He was known as Mr. Rogers for over 50 years. He sang, played puppets, and personified generosity, kindness, compassion, and love to millions of kids around the world. The film is not a biopic but it looks at Mr. Rogers through the eyes an investigative reporter Lloyd Vogel, played by Matthew Rhys in “Sully“, a journalist who pulls no punches and has been assigned to write a piece about him. Unfortunately, his life was consumed with bitterness. The director said, “There was something that I saw as a blessing about working on this film.” Fred was deeply affected by the sufferings of others and the world, which led him to the work he did. Screenwriters Micah Fitzerman Blue and Noah Harpster introduced a conflict between Vogel’s alcoholic father (Chris Cooper from “Live By Night“) and Vogel to highlight the idea that not communicating and suppressing anger are self-defeating. Tom Hanks, though relegated to an almost supporting role in the film, is the brightest spot and it is the most noticeable when he’s not there. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood begins in a familiar setting for TV viewers. In his carefully constructed TV house and looking directly at the camera, Mr. Rogers sings and wears his trademark red sweater, sneakers, and speaks in a slow, soporific, and almost meditative tone about Lloyd Vogel, a friend who is going though a difficult time in his life. The dysfunctional relationship between Vogel and his father is first revealed at the wedding reception of Lloyd’s younger sister (Tammy Blanchard in “Rabbit Hole“), when after a few awkward conversations, they finally come to blows. We only learn later that Vogel blames his father for leaving the family while his mother was dying. The assignment is given by Christine Lahti (“Touched with Fire“), a journalist who is well known for tearing people apart, and then forgetting how to put them back together. Vogel, a man who is notorious for tearing people down, but never putting them back together again, initially doubts the truth of Rogers’ fame, but accepts the task. His resentment and anger towards his father, which he barely controls, creates tension between him and his wife Andrea, played by Susan Kelechi Watson from the “This Is Us TV series”, and their infant son. Knowing that Mr. Rogers is known for his cynicism and anger, Andrea warns him to not “ruin” her childhood when he says he’s going to write a book about him. Rogers’ question about the scar on Vogel’s face is a surprise to Vogel, who expected a short conversation. Rogers, who initially resisted Lloyd’s attempts to speak, eventually convinced him to let Lloyd express his feelings. Rogers told Lloyd that it was okay to be angry, and that it can be difficult to forgive someone you love. In a restaurant, Fred asks Vogel, in the course of a conversation to take a moment and think about the people who have loved him. Hanks’ sincerity, compassion, and care are what make us fall in love with Mister Rogers. The emotional release that the director might have wanted is thwarted somewhat by Vogel’s unlikeability. A beautiful day in the neighborhood, however, is a timely film which is heartfelt and touching without being manipulative. (Except for the contrived subway scene where passengers sing Rogers’ theme on the train). Heller, who is a film critic, says that the world needs kindness now. I believe we all agree. . . In this period of my life and in this political moment, I wanted a film about someone who embodied deep thinking, compassion, and inclusivity. Fred Rogers is that person. “He dedicated his life in small genuine acts compassion and this film shows how these small acts can transform the lives of those around us.” Indeed, it does.