«Mary Poppins», a pleasant return to childhood

Cinema Wednesdays - Lauriane Pipoz

In our paper edition on order here, Our editor's article on the author of the novel on which the film is based, Pamela Lyndon Travers, a highly original woman for her time!

Set in 1930s England, in the midst of the «Great Depression», this film shows an adult Michael and Jane. Mary returns to look after Michael Banks« three children after the death of his wife a year earlier. With a well-balanced treatment of emotion, humor and imaginative offbeat scenes, this film quickly draws us into its magical world. It opens with a lamplighter on a bicycle singing »It's your lucky day". We also meet a zany captain firing cannonballs every hour and Hélène, the old housekeeper who's losing her head a bit.

The most magical of nannies returns fifty-four years after its huge success in 1964. The first film was one of Walt Disney Studios' most profitable and well-received productions: this sequel, also based on the eponymous novel by Pamela Lyndon Travers, was eagerly awaited. A mix of musical comedy, live action and animation, Mary Poppins once again brings magic to the lives of Banks children, twenty years later and with a new look.

«I was playing with a kite and he got caught up in a nanny.»

We have to wait a few minutes before discovering Mary Poppins. She appears as Emily Blunt, clinging to the kite of the youngest Banks child, in a beautiful scene where the clouds part around her. Interpretation of the short story nanny English is very different from that of Julie Andrews: this time she seems much more stern and deadpan, which brings her closer to the character in the Pamela Lyndon Travers books.

This performance makes the nanny both funny and touching. She seems very amused by the children's astonishment at the magic - particularly in the bath scene, where she earnestly says that «if it's not logical and rational, it must be wrong» while making a whole bunch of amazing objects disappear into the bathtub - but with great restraint. This trait is also noticeable in the Banks' living room, at a moment when Michael lets himself be overwhelmed by his emotions in front of his children and their nanny: she remains upright in the entrance to the room, with an expression full of discretion.

Ben Whishaw gives a fine performance as a slightly overwhelmed widower. The first scene in which he breaks down is exceptionally touching. It's set to a beautiful song in which he wonders where his wife is. On the downside, I think the second emotional scene could have done without the tears. Too bad, because the dramatic aspect is deftly conveyed in this different universe, where we quickly move from tears to laughter and wonder. For two hours or so, we're reminded of the magic of our childhood, even if «the adults will have forgotten everything by tomorrow morning, as usual».

Write to the author: lauriane.pipoz@gmail.com

Photo credit: © The Walt Disney Company