I definitely want Tom Hanks to be my neighbour

The famous acting coach Sandy Meisner is  credited with first coming up with often-quoted saying that ‘acting is reacting’. What Meisner is suggesting is that actors should be active listeners during a performance and there is no better listener than Tom Hanks.

At the start of A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Hanks gives a performance of almost Zen-like concentration as Fred Rogers, beloved host of Mr Rogers Neighbourhood which for years was one of America’s favourite TV shows.

If you don’t know who Fred Rogers was I would strongly recommend the documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbour, which is currently on Netflix. Suffice to say that for hundreds of thousands of Americans from the late 1960s to the turn of the millennium Mr Rogers was their surrogate friend, counsellor, parent, and someone they could turn to.

Often when you are dealing with biopics what you end up with is very good impersonation or imitation like Jamie Foxx in Ray (2004) or Renee Zellweger in Judy (2019). Hanks goes beyond that in this film; in one of the best performances of a distinguished career he inhabits Mr Rogers. The opening sequence is almost a note-perfect channelling of the famous host,

We get the chance to see this because he is not the subject of the film. The film is based on a famous Esquire magazine article on Rogers by interviewer and feature writer Tom Junod. He went into the assignment sceptical about Rogers’s inherent goodness but, as the article makes clear, he became a convert. It’s an extraordinary read.

In the film Junod is fictionalised as Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) a cynical and conflicted journalist who is given the Rogers assignment almost as a punishment. A new father himself Vogel is beset by troubles not least his workaholism and his fraught relationship with his own father (Chris Cooper) who has just re-appeared on the scene.

Vogel is sceptical to the point of outright opposition to Fred Rogers but as their lives entwine he becomes aware that maybe it is not the holier than thou act that he had assumed. Since he is not at the centre of the story we can watch Fred Rogers on the periphery, reacting for all he’s worth. It’s a remarkable thing to see.

The story is deftly told by Marielle Heller and the quality of the performances, especially from the leads, draws us in without being overly sentimental. In a neat move the production design renders moments from the real world as if they were in Rogers world, thus immersing the audience more and more into the story.

The potential for schmaltz is high, especially in what is ostensibly a feelgood finale. However this is undone by an enigmatic final shot which hints at hidden depths and gives the ending of the film an unexpected emotional weight.

Hanks is Oscar-nominated for his performance, his first nomination in 20 years remarkably, in the most competitive Best Supporting Actor race for years. No one would grudge the statuette going to Brad Pitt, as expected, but for my money Oscar should be going home with Hanks.