“It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (2019) Review

Tom Hanks shines in slow, yet poignant melodrama.

Directed by: Marielle Heller

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1:49

Review by: Livi Edmonson

From the director of 2019 critical treasure, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and starring arguably America’s most beloved actor, Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is a type of drama that is rare to come by. Inspired by the article, “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod, the film follows a cynical journalist, Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), as he profiles children’s television personality, Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), for Esquire Magazine’s “American Heroes” issue. Although Vogel puts up a ginormous wall for everyone around him, Mr. Rogers somehow finds a way to break down Vogel’s hard, investigative exterior and bring out the care-free, young person he once was. 

The film is based upon the real-life friendship between real journalist, Tom Junod and Fred Rogers, but it showcases the story of Junod, or Vogel in this film’s case, more than that of Mr. Roger’s narrative. The narrative we get is great --- even beautiful --- don’t get me wrong.  However, Tom Hanks gives an uncanny performance as Mr. Rogers, so much so that it would have been nice to see him receive more screen time than the film actually allows him to have. At this point, if Hanks receives any Oscar love, it will be in the “Best Supporting Actor” category and not in the “Best Actor” category. And I think we can all agree that Tom Hanks is nota supporting actor…

Although I thought the screenwriting was a bit messy at times, the primary narrative, again, was beautiful. Nonetheless, I still wanted more from the protagonist. It could have been the subpar acting from Matthew Rhys, or maybe it was indeed the writing or even directing, but I found the main character extremely hard to root for and sometimes even to sympathize with. We see Rhys’s character reach his character arc and make his final turn in act three, yet nothing about him seemed to truly change. Sure, he smiled more, but I found myself wanting more from this wildly unlikable character. Again, I’ll blame it on the acting.

Something else that surprised me about the film was how melodramatic it was. I teared up when I was supposed to, (at the Mr. Rogers scenes, of course) but the film itself had a dark, dawdling tone that seemed to linger a little too long for a “PG” rated film. If audiences are visiting the theater and expecting this to be a biopic about Mr. Rogers, then I would think again. I would say that Mr. Rogers is only in about roughly a mere thirty to forty minutes of the drama. Yeah, disappointing. 

All in all, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is a great film to go see if you have the time this holiday season to sit through a moving story that will try to convince you to become a better person. Do I think it is a little over-hyped? Absolutely --- especially with awards season near. Tom Hanks is definitely the film’s primary marketing strategy and I wish I could say that is not true, trust me. I am by no means claiming that the film is a necessarily a “bad” movie. It simply was just notwhat I was expecting to see. The issues within the film, although appropriate for a “PG” audience, will go way over younger audience’s heads and will even come across as boring. So, good luck bringing your ten-year-old son to see this --- you’re better off seeing “Frozen 2.” I give it a 6/10, primarily for Tom Hanks.