Ask a British person who Mr. Rogers is, and they’ll probably give you a blank stare. But ask an American, and their eyes will glaze over with warmth and nostalgia for an iconic piece of their childhood. Fred Rogers was a beloved kid’s TV star, whose show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood ran from 1968 to 2001, raising several generations with kind-hearted messages of warmth and acceptance – and now he’s being played by another wholesome American icon, Tom Hanks, in upcoming film A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood. Watch the trailer here – and prepare to hear Hanks sing:
Directed by Marielle Heller, the filmmaker behind Can You Ever Forgive Me? and The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, the film follows a journalist (Matthew Rhys) as he prepares to profile Mr. Rogers for a magazine – and while he goes in with some doubts about the man, it seems Fred Rogers might just be as magical and kind as everyone thinks he is. The story is based on Tom Junod’s profile of Mr. Rogers for Esquire – an article that can be read online here (but hey, potential spoilers, if that’s a thing for this kind of movie).
While audiences on our side of the Atlantic might not have much basis for comparison, reaction from American audiences suggest that Hanks’ performance is spot-on – and this one finds Heller coming off the back of two brilliant, acclaimed, award-circling films. With a winter release penned in (6 December in the UK, 22 November in the US), keep an eye on this one – we could have an awards contender on our hands.