I waned to see this movie when it came out. But life happened, and I never went to the theaters to see it.
I was familiar with the Esquire article it's based on, and read it several times for fun, and also in association with an English class I was teaching at the time.
But when I got to watch the film this weekend, it went in a different direction than I was expecting -- and that was a glorious thing.
We often find we need an outside force to help us sort through our own feelings. We live in a world that, especially for males, encourages us to suppress those feelings. But we can see evidenced in the news with alarming effect what happens when people suppress feelings for too long. Feelings need to be felt; the older I get, the more I feel. The more I understand why Dad would sit with Mom on the porch on a quiet Sunday evening, enjoying the breeze and the company but sighing at the thought of going back to work in the morning.
Mr. Rogers reminded us to express those feelings, find positive ways to put them out. To talk about them, to hold them, to share them, to express them in a way that helped us but that did not harm others. That's what this movie is all about.
And serious kudos to Chris Cooper -- I have yet to see him in a move I didn't enjoy him in. He's probably the most charming "bad guy" out there, and embues his characters with a glorious humanity beneath the crust. I loved him in October Sky, and he brings that kind of tender roughness to this film.
Well worth watching.
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