Release Date: 17 January 2014 (UK)
Director: John Lee Hancock
Running Time: 125 Minutes
Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell
Screening Reviewed: London Film Festival Closing Night Gala/World Premiere Press Screening
Reviewed by Kyle Pedley
There seemed to be, and perhaps even still remains, a modicum of confusion surrounding exactly what the purpose and plot of Saving Mr. Banks actually is, being a live action feature whose trailers and marketing offer clear links to the studios perennial family favourite Mary Poppins as well as what appeared to be Tom Hanks playing the big man himself (Disney, not god - though Emma Thompson’s character does get a cracking dig along those lines). Is this a drama doc retelling of the making of the musical fantasy we all know and love? Is it a biopic concerning Poppins’ original scribe P. L. Travers, or one of Walt himself? And what exactly does Colin Farrell riding horseback in the Australian outback have to do with it all?
