What makes this movie so magical is what made Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood such a respected TV show. That is saying that this film tackles deep and important subject matter without an ounce of cynicism or ever talking down to its audience.
This movie could not be more different from director, Marielle Heller's last bio-pic Can You Ever Forgive Me? Unlike that film, we don't focus on a character who could easily push the limits of likability. Even if you are not a fan of his TV show, it is impossible not to respect or admire Fred Rogers as a person. This movie does discuss (albeit at times almost too briefly) Fred's more human faulted side, it does this in such a way that never gives us a more cynical view of the man. In fact it makes us respect him all the more as we learn that he worked hard to be the extremely nice person he was. Through his faith in God and his ways of finding positive ways to deal with negative feelings, he became the type of man many of us would aspire to be. However the focus is on the reporter who interviews him. It is hard not to relate to this reporter who is also shown to be a good man, but one who struggles daily with dealing with his negative thoughts. Here is where the movie hits its heaviest theme. That is how to forgive someone who hurt you deeply and how not to let that pain run the rest of your life. There is no one in the world who such a thing is easy for and therefore it is hard not to have an emotional connection to what we see. Most of all this film is about the effect Fred has on this young man.
This is also a masterfully made movie. The filmmakers know how to get the most out of so little. In fact one of the most powerful scenes in this movie involves two characters sitting in complete silence for about a minute.
My familiarity with Mr. Rogers is fairly limited. I never grew up with his show, since as a kid I was more into slapstick comedy. In fact many more serious "kids" movies and shows, I got more interested in once I grew up because as a kid I simply wanted something that would make me laugh. However this never once hampered my enjoyment of this lovely movie. So even if you never grew up with this show, I still can't recommend this movie enough.
This is the kind of feel good non-cynical movie that would be nice to see more often in today's times.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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