Except for a few posts in the past, I have avoided writing so-called “movie reviews.” Such reviews tend to focus on “favorites” rather than the message of the film or movie. With this post, I intend to reflect on the messages I have received from several of Tom Hanks’ most recent movies. In my view, the messages are profound, and the movies I will be mentioning have very valuable themes.
The first movie I want to mention is the new-ish film entitled A Man Called Otto. The script was patterned after a European book by a Swedish author, Fredrik Backman, where the name of the main character was “Ove,” not “Otto” – and where various other cultural references were changed in the American version. When I went to see it in the movies, I was prepared to see an aging Tom Hanks interact with a rather adorable cat (that was all the previews alluded to). I was not prepared for the hard-hitting nature of Otto’s circumstances, to wit that he had lost his beloved wife a mere 6 months before the opening scene of the movie, and that…well, I will furnish no spoilers. You will have to see it for yourselves, and you will have to furnish your own box of hankies! I myself was fortunate to have brought a pack of Kleenex with me (because I am regularly prepared for emotions bursting upon my consciousness), and very glad that I also had purchased a large Coke with which to refresh my dry throat. All in all, the movie furnished me with a cathartic experience in my two-and-a-half-years of widowhood. Without preaching at me (nothing wrong with that, but I shy away from God’s-got-this deus-ex-machina’s), the movie demonstrated a real way forward for widows and widowers adrift in a cultural wasteland.
My next experience with Tom Hanks was quite by accident – although, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t believe in “coincidences.” I was flipping through my Prime choices, and the movie Sully came into view – based on the miraculous ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 by Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (with his excellent copilot, Jeff Skiles, assisting) into the Hudson River after a catastrophic bird strike. The astonishing fact that all of the crew and passengers escaped (with only a few minor injuries) has been celebrated over and over in the media. Naively, I clicked on the movie, expecting a wonderfully detailed exploration of this great captain’s leadership, courage, and skill in keeping his plane intact until the last minute, and delivering his passengers a well-thought-out plan of escape instead of a nearly-certain tragic ending. Instead, I was horrified and scandalized to discover through a riveting script the shame and nearly-disastrous accusations heaped upon him by a rigidly judgmental NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). Based solely on computer models which were considered “infallible,” the members of this board repeatedly hounded and harangued Sully and Skiles over the men’s “premature” judgment to ditch the plane in the river rather than “safely” return to the airport. The board asserted that a well-respected “computer simulation” had “demonstrated” that the left engine had not been damaged by the bird strike and was still functioning when the plane hit the water – only to later have to admit, upon recovery of the (severely damaged) engine from the Hudson, that the bird strike had indeed incapacitated the entire engine, and that Sully and Skiles were courageous heroes who deserved thanks, not ridicule. It was a tough movie to watch, but it helped to know the ultimate outcome had vindicated the two men. One of the strengths of the movie was Tom Hanks’ uncanny ability to impersonate Sullenberger, whom I had seen in numerous interviews.
Having watched A Man Called Otto in the movie theater, I decided that I wanted to add it to my movie collection. (It has been my philosophy for a long time that “buying a movie online” is a short-sighted convenience. In order to possess the movie for an extended period of time, one has to keep subscribing to the streaming service(s) that provides it. Once a person unsubscribes, the movie is “lost” and reverts back to the original providers.) I watched the movie again (yes, I used up more hankies!), and noticed that another Tom Hanks movie was previewed. This one was called A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which I recognized right away referred to a biopic about Fred Rogers, the beloved children’s television character. I ordered it; once again, I was wrong about what I expected the movie to be about. Instead of a from-birth-through-life-to-death biography, the movie was a clever exposition of the impact one simple man had on several generations of people – both young and old. Fred Rogers was a God-given gift to the American viewing public; he used his talent and hope and insight to give his viewers a gentle way to work through some very thorny problems facing children: divorce, anger, grief, etc. Besides Mr. Rogers, the other main character is a hard-bitten, cynical journalist who – up to the time he meets Rogers – considers it his “duty” to tear down everything and everyone who is respectable and noteworthy. His first encounter with Mr. Rogers turns his perspective upside down, and causes him to eventually come to terms with his own dysfunctional life. I admit that several scenes in the movie, which tend to be “surreal,” almost “supernatural,” threw me for a loop at first. However, given enough patience, the viewer comes to understand what the script attempts to do, and the result is quite satisfying. In the “Special Features” section, the viewer can compare Tom Hank’s performance to the real Fred Rogers (another noteworthy aspect of the DVD package, I might add), and the overall assessment must be pleasure in the finished product.
What now? Well, I have Toy Story 1 & 2 (and possibly 3 & 4 somewhere), and I can re-watch them. There’s always Forrest Gump available somewhere for free, as well as Big and some others. This quick review is meant only to voice my appreciation of Tom Hank’s choices of films in his latter years – proof that no matter what one’s age and skill set, one can meaningfully contribute in one’s field of endeavor to bolster another person as he or she struggles with life’s challenges.
By the way, did you hear about Smith’s College’s ban of the word “field” throughout its programs? Supposedly, it has something to do with slavery and cotton and all that tripe (a British slang word). Until next time, folks…!
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