As much as I love movies, there are a few with which I simply do not connect, no matter how well they are made. I think this is one of them. This is because I have never developed an appreciation for television host Fred Rogers. I never watched his show as a child and am almost completely unaware of how he communicated important things to children. Now one might think that a good film would inform me about the man and his noble mission — and it does — and yet I still feel quite ambivalent about it all.

Marielle Heller’s film is not a biography of Mr. Rogers; it centers on journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), a man with real anger issues, whose assignment to interview the famous TV host (Tom Hanks, who seems to be spot-on as Mr. Rogers) leads him to become a better husband, father, son and man. It’s all very inspiring. But it is also rather dark, and kind of creepy.

I hated the silly transition scenes the director employs, using toys on a toy set to depict Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood and travel to and from Pittsburgh (where the show was filmed) and New York City. It seems to trivialize everything in the film. The spare sets and seemingly minimal effort made to make the television show work against the film’s stance that something important is being created. As Mr. Rogers insinuates himself into Lloyd’s life, I agreed with Lloyd’s perspective of intrusiveness. And yet, Lloyd eventually changes his mind and embraces the friendship. I don’t know whether I would have in the same circumstances.

Full disclosure makes me admit that I’ve never really liked Mr. Rogers. There is something about him that I instinctively distrust. (I never watched Sesame Street either; these facts may help explain why I am the way I am). No matter how well Mr. Rogers is portrayed (and Tom Hanks’ performance certainly seems Oscar-worthy to me), I have been unable to see and appreciate the magic so many others see in him. I guess that’s my loss. This film provides a very positive perspective on him — largely true from what I have read about it — that changed one man’s mind about someone he initially felt was too good to be true. Because of my own doubt, the film fails to move me in the same direction. ☆ ☆ 1/2. 28 November 2019.