Near Misses: Emma Thompson in "Saving Mr. Banks"
Monday, December 30, 2019 at 5:45PM 
As we know, the precursors don't always matter. Many an actor was Oscar-nominated without a SAG, Golden Globe or BAFTA nod to recommend them. Of course, for every surprise inclusion, there's a shocking snub to contend with. There are those performers that seemed like near locks up until nomination morning. When they failed to stick the landing, predictors were surprised and fans thrown into paroxysms of outrage. These near misses can be precious jewels of acting that were unforgivably shortchanged, while, other times, we can count ourselves spared a nomination for mediocre work.
In 2013, Emma Thompson was nominated for the SAG, the Globes, the BAFTA, the Critics Choice Award and even won the National Board of Review prize for her performance as P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks. The Academy, however, ignored her. Compared to some of the actual Oscar nominees, Thompson's work is, at the very least, an impressive achievement and deserving of recognition…
While Saving Mr. Banks is known to many as a work of nostalgic propaganda by the Walt Disney Company, the actual film tends to be more ambivalent than its fame suggests. It tells the story of how the author of Mary Poppins was bullied into surrendering her work for a movie adaptation by the House of Mouse, how she fought constantly with the creative team and locked horns with Walt Disney himself about the legacy of her magical nanny. The movie might ultimately be on Disney's side, taking for granted that 1964's Mary Poppins is a masterpiece, but Travers' side of the story isn't necessarily slighted. In fact, much of the script is made of flashbacks to the author's childhood in Australia, showing the audience how the traumas of her young life informed the creation of her literary work.
There's an active attempt to do justice to Travers, even though the remembrances of youth are Saving Mr. Banks' worst aspect. Part of that comes from the fact they are utterly needless. Emma Thompson's performance as the embittered Travers tells us everything the flashbacks do with dramatic economy. She has the mastery and precision of a performer capable of spinning storytelling gold out of a meaningful pause or a change of posture. The role may not offer the actress many challenges, but she executes what's given to her with virtuosity. She modulates what could have been monotone and makes the role of a curmudgeon into a fun entertaining presence.
Emma Thompson even complicates the material. Her default expression is always a mask of superiority that seems to have been worn so often it became aa personal tick. This icy composure makes her into a line of rigidity in busy scenes full of fluttering motion as people try desperately to please her while still arguing their points. When she melts and lets herself be electrified by the looseness of the other performers, it's a joyful sight that transcends the saccharine sentiment the film is going for. Less generous viewers might say Thompson is too good for the film she's stuck in, but one can as easily conclude her performance elevates the production.
Travers' prickliness is never completely sanded off by Disney whimsy, not even when the movie jams a tearful happy ending in a real-life story devoid of such rosy epilogues. When crying at the majesty of Disney's Mary Poppins, Thompson's author doesn't lose her bite and there's always a punch of sourness and acidity to the sugary confection the filmmakers try to jam down the audiences' throats. This dynamic between script and performer, between intention and execution is the fertile terrain in which the flower of narrative ambivalence blooms. Emma Thompson makes Saving Mr. Banks into a much better film than what one may expect and she deserved an Oscar nomination for it.
If you were to nominate Thompson in 2013, which of the actual Best Actress nominees would you snub?
Reader Comments (50)
For a moment I thought the question of which actress to bump off the 2013 nominations would be hard, but, um, no, actually super easy.
Meryl Streep doesn't need that AOC nod one little bit.
Oh my god was that that long ago? The only one I could bump for Thompson in that line up is Streep. But I’d still vote for Dench (sorry bout it). Julianne Nicholson was best in show and unsung hero of August Osage County ( hard choice vs Lupita)
Judi Dench. Definitely Judi Dench. Fucking Philomena. What a waste.
Is this a new series? If so, I approve! I would definitely have nominated Thompson over Amy Adams and Meryl Streep that year.
I'd knock out Streep for Osage County to put her in out of the listed actresses, though I bet more people select Dench.
Amy Adams... "American Hustle" was simply overrated and while it was one of her performances I truly enjoyed, she pales in comparison to Blanchett, Dench, Streep or even Bullock in that year. Thompson would be fit that lineup perfectly
Thompson did not quite make my own list that year (second runner up) but I do prefer her slightly to amy adams and Meryl streep but the one I'd boot that year is Judi Dench in Philomena.
Sorry to be picky, but I'm not sure I understand the "near miss" label being applied to actors who did not in fact get an Oscar nomination. Am I - ahem - missing something? :)
Nah, not that good. She could have done that in her sleep. It's not that she makes her work look effortless; she's going for the most basic choices all the time, in all her roles, for almost 20 years.
Do we remember how Streep sabotaged this for Thompson?
Thompson over Streep and Dench. Easy decision, not because the latter were bad, but because Thompson was better.
Bullock.
Nice post, Claudio. I know her mid-90s run is impossible to repeat but I wish she would try. She hasn't done anything remarkable/challenging since Mr. Banks. Why is she avoiding the stage?
I think Streep should be the one...Since in Giving Thompson her NBR award her speech was basically a lambasting Of Walt Disney as an anti Semite anti woman pig
vv -- That was my feeble try at wordplay. This could be a series, so I was looking for a title that would reflect how these failed nods can be a relief or a disappointment. Sometimes they're a near-miss in the normal sense, a disaster that was close to happening but was avoided in time. Other times they're deserving performances that got near to Oscar glory but missed at the last moment.
I'm sorry if it's confusing - I may have jumbled it with my attempts at cleverness.
Regarding my choice of nominee to boot from the line-up, I happen to think Thompson is better than Streep, Dench, and Bullock. Still, for me, Dench would be the first to go.
In my personal ballot, Thompson finishes as a close runner-up but doesn't get in the final five. It was a rich year for the Best Actress category and it's difficult to deny the greatness of other performers like Greta Gerwig in FRANCES HA, Adele Exarchopoulos in BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, Zhang Ziyi in THE GRANDMASTER or Julie Delpy in BEFORE MIDNIGHT. I'd rate them all higher than Thompson and the three nominated women I mentioned above.
I ❤️ Emma Thompson, but this would’ve been her Florence Foster Music of the Wood nomination so it’s best that she doesn’t have that albatross on her résumé.
I saw “Saving Mr. Banks” in the theatre and shortly after saw the Disney film “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” based on a terrific kid’s book by Mary Norton (“The Borrowers”), and starring the wonderful Angela Lansbury.
“Bedknobs and Broomsticks” came out in 1971, “Mary Poppins” in 1964. They had the B&B property in case the rights to Poppins didn’t work out, then kept it back because there were similarities to Poppins.
B&B had pretty much the same team as Poppins, same director, screenwriters, editor, musical team, producer, etc. Except this time they weren’t constrained by that awful woman P.L. Travers, and they could do it just the way they had wanted to do Poppins.
And “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” is awful. Parts of it are unwatchable.
Because P.L. Travers was right on every count. Everything she railed against and fought against, and made them tone down or omit, helped make “Mary Poppins” a classic you can still watch with pleasure today, while “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”, the men’s version, is a misfire.
I admit I was a little ashamed that it never even crossed my mind that Travers was just another woman artist that had been labelled “difficult to work with”. That I thought she was just a curmudgeon.
And then “Saving Mr. Banks” is kind of the story of explaining why she was so awful, and couldn’t see how her personal trauma affected her work.
But she was right all along. Her intransigent criticisms and unwillingness to compromise made “Mary Poppins” a great movie.
I always found her overly theatrical and mannered,there's too much Thompson going on.
I'd kick out Dench same reason as Thompson she doesn't belong,she's doing standard stuff at least Meryl went for it,Blanchett's an all timer anyway,no one was going to top that original.
I'd put Julia Louis Dreyfus in for Dench.
Judi Dench is good but Emma is better. Meryl Streep isn't even good here.
American Hustle was a disjointed mess and Bale and Adams should have NOT been in contention that year. Also Gravity was mind-numbingly boring. So Adams and Bullock could definitely go!
Surprising how Meryl is getting the most votes to be excluded when I thought it was a fantastic performance and worthy of an Oscar (if not for the absolute perfection of Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine). You all so fickle here with loving Streep then giving her the boot first chance you get lol.
I, too, would bump Dench for Philomena. I just don't care for the film.
Take it away from Streep and she'll be fine.
I'm here to defend Streep. Her performance in August Osage County is great. In fact, that 2013 Best Actress lineup is nothing to scoff at.
As good as she is, she would not have made my list. If I were to bump anyone from that lineup (which would be about half the lineup), it would be to make way for Julie Delpy in Before Midnight or Brie Larson in Short Term 12 or Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in Enough Said.
Give her Cate's slot...
Streep
Get rid of the overrated Amy Adams
I found SAVING MR. BANKS to be a total sleeping pill - that said, I do actually prefer Thompson to the dreadful Adams.
"I ❤️ Emma Thompson, but this would’ve been her Florence Foster Music of the Wood nomination so it’s best that she doesn’t have that albatross on her résumé."
Ha ha that's hilarious. I agree! SMB is chockfull of sugarcoated lies about how lovable avuncular old Walt Disney was, I was rather appalled, tho both Thompson and Hanks do as well as could be expected.
Adams was the one who squeaked in that year and misplaced Emma- not Judi or Meryl.
I would remove all of American Hustle's nominations for that year, so Adams for me.
I tried watching this but found the film depressing when ever they cut to the flashbacks about her alcoholic father.
Meryl is an easy target, no? (isen't she always?)
But we all know she had that nod booked the minute A:OC was announced.
Adri, just want to thank you for your post. It made me see the film and Travers from a deeper perspective.
I think Emma deserves all the awards all the time. She’s amazing throughout but especially during her breakdown in the movie screening. Unfortunate that the film takes such a long time to get there.
agree with Sonja and the rest who think Meryl didn't spoil Emma's bid. It was Amy Adams who was the surprise nominee. Meryl was going to be there regardless as much as some of us may have doubted her at the last minute.
Definitely a "miss," not a "near miss." If you want wordplay, how about calling the series "Misses & Miss-ters"? ::rimshot::
Great Thompson deserved a nom.
And not the overrated Streep in that garbage called August: Osage County.
I think it’s very likely that Streep was in fifth and not Adams. The SAG lineup matches the Oscar lineup but the SAG lineup was from December. By January the tide was turning. American Hustle was over-performing resulting in a surprise surge at the BAFTA where Adams replaced Streep. I think the fact that Julia made it in for supporting at BAFTA’s despite them not caring for the film and Amy riding the wave of Hustle meant Streep was much safer especially as many seemed to think she wasn’t the MVP in AOC. Of course, we’ll never know.
Bullock definitely Bullock... What a mediocre actress in a mediocre role ... all she does is breath hard and grasp for air... I hated that movie sooooo much....
Thompson not getting in was a huge surprise, but then again what the Oscars came up with was a solid line-up.
Career-best work for Blanchett and Bullock, Adams goes against type, while Streep takes on a monster of a role and delivers one her most unfairly maligned works.
Maybe Dench is the weak link; she's very good, but nothing noteworthy. However, Philomena is a much stronger film than Saving Mr. Banks, so that gave Dench the advantage over Thompson.
@Adri. I still kind of love B&B and the Sherman brothers’ score for it is wonderful. Bobbing along...bobbing along...on the bottom of the beautiful briny sea...
Emma in, Meryl out.
Emma was just superb in this film. Such a disappointing snub. Take Amy Adams out. The whole thing with the accent...yeesh
Emma even alluded to the fact that she lost her nod to a younger woman (Amy Adams). But no one liked Emma’s movie and Tom Hanks was also snubbed. It’s also an old fish wives’ tale that Streep talking about Disney had any impact. Amy was heavily promoted and people (at the time) loved American Hustle.
Ah thanks for this - so great to have it !!!!
I'm ALL THE WAY with Tony.
Bullock & Adams
I loved loved loved Emma that year - and I think she was absolutely worthy !
I would have snubbed Bullock - as I felt her botoxed face looked like a wax-mask in Gravity - and it was a more subtle performance then her previous win - but I felt she only got in because she won the year before. Well to be fair I just planned to revisit Gravity so maybe I change my mind.
I also felt Adams did a bold move but the movie was so overrated and like Tony said a big muddle, the only refreshing surprise was JLaw.
I so adored Dench in Philomania - I think she went very much against type and managed so nuanced and frail. Watch it again honestly it's a little gem.
Same goes for me with Meryl - loved every minute of her performance and I do understand that people think she might be overrated - (for Laundromat she shouldn't even have been considered - Into The Woods was a very unnecessary nomination) BUT this performance did crawl under my skin like nothing else - one of my actual top 10 of hers !
Just rewatched "Gravity" - why oh why on earth (or heaven) was BULLOCK nominated ???? This is beyond my understanding - a technical masterpiece - but acting ????
Great series I'm catching up on late. You're completely wrong about Thompson deserving a nomination, but even when so very off the track and showing poor taste, your writing is as expressive and enjoyable as ever. Best TFE writer at the moment!
영화제에서 제이슨