Saving Mr. Banks

P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is stiff to the bone. She doesn't smile, she refuses to meet people halfway, she is as cold as they come.
Certainly her cruel upbringing has something to do with that.
Mrs. Travers, as she insists on being called, is out of money. Her book, Mary Poppins, was a bestseller but all the profits have dried up so her agent basically gives her no choice but to fly to Los Angeles to meet with Walt Disney (Tom Hanks). But she has terms and they include absolutely no animation.
So she flies to Los Angeles, is rude to both a fellow passenger and flight attendant and is furious to find her suite stuffed with all things Disney, like stuffed Mickey Mouse, etc.
Then the real work begins. Mrs. Travers meets with the screenwriter Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford) and the Sherman brothers, Richard and Robert (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak), all of whom have great ideas but Mrs. Travers bulks at all of them. She is nit-picky about everything. She doesn't like the name they pick out for Mrs. Banks, doesn't like that they opt to make her a suffragette and doesn't like the plan for the house. Everything also must be recorded, not as easily done then as it would be now.
Walt, as he insists on being called, tries to appease her, does everything in his power to make her happy. But it is impossible to make Mrs. Travers happy. He promised his daughters that he would turn her book into a film and a father never breaks a promise to his daughters.
Her childhood was a difficult one. She did not have a happy childhood. Her father, Travers Gall (Colin Farrell) was an alcoholic, though you don't realize it right away and it becomes worse after the family moves. Sure, he may be a loving father, but his addiction will destroy the family. Ginty (Annie Rose Buckley), Mrs. Travers's childhood nickname, loves her father much more than her mother, Margaret (Ruth Wilson). In fact, Margaret nearly kills herself by walking into a lake, nearly pulling a Virginia Woolf, but luckily, Ginty saves her. But Travers gets worse, embarrassing the family horribly at a public event, which causes Margaret to give him one of the best death glares I have ever seen. But that doesn't save him. He is horribly sick, coughing up blood. Ginty doesn't listen to her mother and finds the last liquor bottle and gives it to him. Yet, her father criticizes the young girl's poem. Then, he sends her out for pears, and she returns only to find that he has died. Yikes.
These events have affected Mrs. Travers for years. She has no family, none that would truly care about her and she barely tries to make friends. The only person she grows close to is her driver, Ralph (Paul Giamatti) who reveals that he has a disabled daughter which is why he worries about the weather so much. Mrs. Travers is surprising sympathetic about that and even personally signs one of her books for him.
But the plight of making the movie continues. She also is insulted when the writers don't realize that Mary Poppins isn't actually saving the children, but she's saving the father which confused me. I'll get to that later.
Although the writers eventually get Mrs. Travers to nearly come on board, with the delightful "Let's Go Fly a Kite" song only to have her hopes dashed with the insistence of animation she bulks and refuses to sign over the rights and returns home in a huff to London.
Luckily, Walt doesn't give up that easily, convincing her with his own sordid past, and how he overcame everything. His father was a businessman and had a horrible work ethic which meant his young sons had to deliver newspapers in all sorts of weather and often, if something wasn't done well, abuse would follow. Mrs. Travers signs away her rights and even goes to the Los Angeles premiere despite not having an invitation. She appears pleased with the final product.
I did have several issues with the film. Sure the acting was top-notch, including a good performance from Colin Farrell, though I still find him to have a creeper vibe, I had issues with the plot. Though Mary Poppins came to save the father, in reality, that never happened for Ginty. Her aunt (Rachel Griffiths, always underused) arrived and whipped the house into shape, the odd aunt, with a carpet bag full of interesting things, the father could not be saved. Mr. Banks may have finally taken his job as a father seriously but this was not to be for Travers. Yet, Ginty loved him so much, she took his name anyway. So, yes, I don't really get the title. Sure, Mr. Banks was saved in the final film, but he was based on Mrs. Travers's actual father who was never saved. Ginty's past is left unsolved. I also wish that when Ralph picked Mrs. Travers up for the premiere, he mentioned his daughter, something to tie-up that plot line.
Fortunately, the acting saves the film. Each actor is brilliant with stand-out performances from both Thompson and Hanks who deserve every nomination they each receive. And it looks good. With pristine cinematography and great scenic design and costumes. I just wish that Mrs. Travers also got her happy ending, like Walt did his. Grade: A-