The London Film Festival, which opened on Wednesday with the European premiere of Captain Phillips, came to a close on Sunday with the world’s maiden screening of Saving Mr Banks, a humor-filled film that deals with the tempestuous relationship involving Walt Disney and Pamela Lyndon Travers.

Excellent Performances

Both Tom Hanks as Disney and Emma Thompson as Travers have performed exceedingly well, giving life to the two leading characters. The movie revolves around Hanks’ struggle in convincing Thompson to bring her Mary Poppins tales to the screen through his video. Director John Lee Hancock, who has lived up to the high expectations, deserves a pat or two on his back for paying a lot of care in selecting actors such as Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman to perform important supporting roles.

Hanks has left his stamp right through the film, starting from engaging in a long-drawn battle to impress upon Travers to bring the adventures of Poppins to the big screen to sharing his childhood memories that ultimately serves his purpose. The cheers received by the actor during the closing ceremony made it amply clear that the audience thoroughly enjoyed the film.

For her part, Thompson told journalists that the role of Travers was one she simply couldn’t turn down. “It’s a movie about two cultures coming together and clashing over that one iconic creation. How could I refuse this role?” Thompson queried. The 54-year-old two-time Oscar winner went on to add that “a woman of my age can find no roles for women of my age and is suddenly handed one of the best roles she has ever been given”.

Memorable Occasion

There are several scenes where Thompson has abundant opportunities to showcase her talent, and the “Howards End” (1992) and “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) actress has seized every single chance to deliver the punch. Irish Farrell has found a perfect role as a loving father of Travers. When the father tells his daughter that “you can be anyone you want to be” and when the latter replies “I want to be just like you” both father and daughter seem to try to outshine each other.

Like always, the 57th edition of the BFI London Film Festival turned out to be a memorable occasion, with the mega event offering all the extravaganza a film lover can ask for. Welcoming the guests, BFI Chief Executive Amanda Nevill made use of the opportunity to offer thanks to the sponsors whose financial backing made the festival a big success. Clare Stewart, BFI’s outgoing head of exhibition and distribution, said hosting Saving Mr Banks served as a perfect end to the festival.

Deafening Applause

It was interesting to see director Hancock summoning all those associated with the film – cast and crew – to the stage, a move which was welcomed by the huge gathering of people’s deafening applause. When Thompson came up with a suggestion that London put Hanks on “the fourth plinth” the response from the audience was instantaneous. The actress also did not fail to share her happy experiences during the shooting of Saving Mr Banks.