Mr. Rogers: A Device for Storytelling

Fred Rogers was a very influential person in the way he thought children and introduced them to adult concepts and real world events. There truly was no one else like him. In A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Tom Hanks plays a very convincing Mr. Rogers. He truly transforms and you don't see Tom Hanks anymore you see Fred Rogers. Matthew Rhys plays Lloyd Vogel, a journalist assigned to do an expose on Mr. Rogers. This is based on the real journalist Tom Junod who did an interview with Mr. Rogers in the late 90s and became friends with him.

Matthew Rhys’ performance really conveys how he has trouble expressing and dealing with feelings. His performance is so genuine without a lot of actual expression or emotion which is hard to do. The audience sees him come around at the end and embrace his emotions.

Mr. Rogers is used in a clever way in this movie. The movie opens up like on episode of the kids show as he introduces people on his special persons board. The reporter is on there and Mr. Rogers discusses that the reporter is having difficulties. The scene transitions are miniatures and puppets like the show as well. It’s like the whole movie was an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. When the reporter interviews Mr. Rogers, Mr. Rogers questions him about his life and troubles. He dodges questions when he is asked about personal trauma or negative things. Mr. Rogers also uses his puppets as symbols for different emotions. This is a very complex and layered movie. I highly recommend it. But for people looking for a movie about Mr. Rogers entirely they should watch the documentary that came out in 2018, Won’t You Be My Neighbor. 🍔🍔🍔🍔