Much like Seberg, the main casting choice behind this
feature is one that admittedly is a bit obvious, but is also what this
production needed right out of the gate. When you’re dealing with a figure as
nigh-on-mythical as Fred Rogers, a person that some to this day still question
the authenticity of, you need someone who can sell earnestness triumphant. So
with that in mind, they basically picked the closest person we have that is as
unabashedly likeable as Mr. Rogers himself: Tom Hanks, someone whose sheer
charm has also veered somewhat into cliché.
Knowing that a documentary about Mr. Rogers wound up
becoming my favourite film of 2018, I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was
at just how good Hanks is as everyone’s favourite nice guy in children’s
television. The hushed tone, the endearing timbre, the gentle invitation in his
voice that tells you he cares about you and wants to hear what you have to say;
the moments with him on-screen genuinely come close to Would You Be My
Neighbor? for sheer ugly-crying potential.
