Der wunderbare Mr. Rogers

Tom Hanks is perfect as Fred Rogers. At the latest during the restaurant scene, he will have you in the palm of his hand, because his stare fixed into the camera has to make everyone stop and think for a minute - not just Matthew Rhys's character, who undergoes one of the least likely therapies in the history of therapies. In addition, a lot of the film's best qualities are due to the direction of Marielle Heller, who conceived the entire film as one episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. For those who like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and would like to learn more about Fred Rogers (because this isn't his biography), watch the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?. (28.12.2020)

Lloyd's story may be disastrously transparent, but the guilelessness with which his lifelong cynicism resists melting in the face of the kindest person in the world is disarming from their first shared scene. Tom Hanks, as Mr. Rogers, completely hypnotized me with his unwavering kindness against rudeness, his sincere confessions, his steady gaze, and his goodness that can easily be mistaken for shyness. I smile at how many people find the idea of such an uncontrollably positive and determined person incredible or even repulsive – that someone like that could exist and try to help everyone who listened to him, and even more so those who didn't want to listen. (20.01.2020)

Very nice. Tom Hanks playing himself irradiates positive energy in a story that it’s not original at all, but presents wholesome characters and it’s honeycombed with a contagious fantasy atmosphere, thanks to which the almost fairytale moral doesn’t lose its effect. If Rogers was truly such a cheerful guy, this film pays him a very tasteful and likeable homage. Unfortunately, though, it’s only the kind of consumable sentimentality that most distant viewers will surely underestimate. 75% (12.02.2020)