EL SEGUNDO HERALD November 28, 2019 Page 13
A Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood Sparks Joy
By Morgan Rojas for cinemacy.com
One didn’t need to grow up watching Mister
Rogers’ Neighborhood to understand his impact
and contribution to making the world a
kinder place. With some creative liberty at the
helm, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,
now playing in theaters everywhere, tells the
true story of the evolution between America’s
most lovable man and jaded journalist Tom
Juno, a relationship that has become infamous
in the life and legacy of Mister Rogers. Both
misunderstood in their own way –- one for
being too empathetic and the other for being
too selfish -– the beauty of Marielle Heller’s
biopic lies in showing how a little love can
go a long way.
Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), an agitated
investigative journalist at Esquire magazine,
is notorious for writing excessively critical
articles about his subjects. When he is assigned
a “puff piece” –- a 300-word assignment on
Mr. Fred Rogers for the magazine’s American
Heroes feature –- Lloyd is both baffled and
intrigued. His intentions to go deeper than the
request and uncover any scandals that may
be hidden about the nicest man in the world
upsets his wife Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson),
who idolizes the TV personality. Upon
their first meeting, Lloyd isn’t convinced that
Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) is being authentic,
questioning his ability to connect to any man,
woman, and child. As the duo spends more
time together, first out of obligation and then
out of desire, Lloyd begins to see Mister
Rogers in a new light, opening up his mind
and heart in the process.
Marielle Heller’s character-driven drama is
rich in emotional tension and hits far deeper
than traditional surface-level biopics. She
examines the yin/yang of human behavior
and subtly shows how no man, including
Mister Rogers, can be happy all of the time.
Lloyd leads with his anger and pessimism,
and so his outbursts are expected. However,
the darker, mysterious side to Mister Rogers
is only touched upon. The final scene tells
so much through the simplicity of playing
piano keys, making it perhaps one of the
most powerful moments in a film this year.
As expected, Tom Hanks is magnetic as the
lovable Mister Rogers. It would be a huge
disservice to classify Hanks’ performance as
an “imitation.” He fully embodies every little
detail and mannerism that made Fred Rogers
iconic. The slightly uncontrollable body
trembles that come with aging, the deeplyset
eye wrinkles from smiling so large and
so often…all these and more aid in Hanks’
Entertainment
transformation into the beloved TV personality.
Matthew Rhys, arguably the protagonist of
the film, gives a stellar performance and nails
every emotional arch. His vulnerability as a
man who is lost and then found is unmatched.
For those who didn’t have the pleasure of
growing up with Mister Rogers on television,
it might be beneficial to first watch Academy
Award-winning director Morgan Neville’s
documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Neville’s film paints a more intricate portrait
of the man behind the persona, including
personal anecdotes and character-building
circumstances that are omitted in Heller’s
biopic. However, one doesn’t necessarily need
context to enjoy this film. We all know a good
man when we see one and A Beautiful Day
in the Neighborhood is a truly remarkable
film about a truly remarkable man. •
Film Review
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Morgan Rojas
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The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno
Reviewed by Kim Harris
The Lost & Found is a story about two teenagers,
Frances and Louis, who live on opposite
coasts of the United States. They met when
they were younger through an online chat group
for those coping with trauma. Frannie lost her
parents (one is in jail, the other is in a mental
institution) and Louis feels responsible for the
accident that cost his twin sister Willa the
use of her legs. Frannie and Louis use online
names in their chats and have never met each
other, but they know they understand each other
better than anyone else. They look forward to
their chats every day and long to meet each
other or at least learn the other’s real name.
Both have a tendency to lose things: important
papers, tennis rackets, objects that mean a lot
to them…The things aren’t lost, but they just
vanish with no explanation. When Frannie and
Louis both get surprising news in the mail, they
talk to each other through the chat site and then
decide to reveal their real names. After talking
in real life, they decide to go to Austin, Texas
to find answers and meet each other.
Frannie travels to Austin with her cousin
Arrow because she got letters from her mother
that claimed Frannie’s real dad was a famous
TV actor. Frannie wants to go meet him and
find out if anything her mother said was true.
Louis goes to Austin with Willa because he is
offered a tennis scholarship at the university
there and he wants to check it out. Louis is
scared at first to tell his parents about his
scholarship because Austin is so far away from
home and he feels guilty leaving the family
materials and garment business and his sister.
I really liked the book because it was about
Frannie and Louis’ journey. The book has
magical realism in it, but also explores what
it is like to be a teenager and wanting to find
out who you really are. While Frannie and
Louis are driving to Texas, each finds important
objects that belong to the other. Frannie finds
Louis’ favorite tennis racket and Louis finds
the tip of the fountain pen that has been lodged
inside of Frannie since she was little. When
Frannie and Louis finally meet, they realize how
much they really like each other and want to
continue their relationship. Frannie and Louis
bring hope and possibilities to each other and
decide to no longer be a part of the support
group. Although both suffered tragedies, they
now have hope for a brighter future.
If you would like to read this or any other
of our fantastic books, come check out the El
Segundo Public Library! You can ask any of
our friendly reference staff for assistance with
titles and book selections. •
Kim Harris
Check It Out
The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno