Finding Neverland [DVD] [2004]

"Finding Neverland" is a deeply moving, poetic film, based on the life of Scottish playwright and novelist James Matthew Barrie, and adapted from Allan Knee's play "The Man Who Was Peter Pan." It is a fictional account of how Barrie came to write "Peter Pan," which has long been a beloved children's classic symbolizing everlasting youth.

Johnny Depp gives an unusually understated, sensitive performance as J. M. Barrie, who is facing a crisis in life. His latest play is not receiving accolades, and his marriage has grown cold and sterile. He meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, (Kate Winslet), a widowed mother of four sons, and immediately hits it off with her boys - played by Joe Prospero, Nicholas Roud, Luke Spill, and the extremely gifted Freddie Highmore as Peter. Although he is friendly with Sylvia, it is with the children that he is able to take-off on glorious flights of imagination. And the five of them soar. Their back-yard games transform into fantasy imagery. They're flying!! The results are remarkable scenes played out as adventures, veritable fetes of daring. He and the boys act as pirates sailing the Spanish Main, cowboys and "red Indians" riding the plains of the old West.

In reality, however, this is Edwardian England, not the Wild West, and Barrie's friend Arthur Conan Doyle, (Ian Hart), warns him of vicious gossip about his "unseemly" interest in the family. Barrie responds with disgust. As he becomes increasingly involved with the boys, tension escalates between him and his upper-class wife, Mary, (Radha Mitchell). Sylvia's mother, Emma (Julie Christie), also lifts a questioning brow, wondering why on earth a grown man would spend so much time with children, and someone else's to boot!

Barrie's deep feelings for Sylvia and her boys are genuine. A decent man, he never had kids of his own, nor did he have much of a childhood. Complex and creative, emotionally immature with a brilliant mind, he carves out a realm for himself with the Davies family, his own Neverland of sorts. He lavishes them with affection, gifts, and tons of energy as he enacts, with them all, his inspired games. His poignant longing for the childhood he missed is evident. For me, Barrie epitomizes the "lost boy." The children, in turn, love him back and gift him with the inspiration for his haunting tale of Peter Pan, the youth who refuses to grow up. In David Magee's screenplay, Sylvia is the female figure in Barrie's fantasies - like a Wendy - more maternal than wifely.

Sorrow and loss lie just over the horizon from this world of fantasy and delight, but I will keep them at bay here. Let it suffice to say that some dark themes are explored. Director Marc Forster has delivered a fine period piece, with amazing sets and costume design. The acting is superb. Johnny Depp imbues the film with a sense of wonder. Ultimately, "Finding Neverland" is about holding on to the all the magical aspects of childhood and keeping the imagination alive. This movie touched me deeply. PS - bring some extra tissues along.
JANA

Finding Neverland is one of those rare films that succeed in everything they attempt. It tells the story of JM Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, who was in equal measures brilliant and exceptionally difficult to live with. He had unusual writing habits and a powerful imagination, which often caused a blur between fantasy and reality in his life. This blend of the real and the imaginary is a successful staple for the film, much of which jumps back and forth between the two, a delightful product of the talents of Marc Forster, the director.

Played with grace and aplomb by the inestimable Johnny Depp - who presently seems to have the Midas Touch - Barrie is at a downturn in his writing career at the start of the film. He has just written a play that has been panned by the critics, so he seeks inspiration for a new project. He meets by chance the widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four young sons, instantly forming the friendship that becomes the muse for his masterpiece. However, while Barrie is off playing `the-boy-who-never-grew-up' with his new friends, his marriage to upwardly-mobile Mary (Radha Mitchell) declines badly. The performances given by Depp and Mitchell of the fragile couple are exquisite, but also bring the feeling that the marriage has been cold for a long time, and that they would have struggled, Peter Pan or no.

While Barrie's intentions for the Davies family are only good, his involvement causes a stir amongst society, and it is here that the film is extremely strong. Marc Forster directs with subtlety and sympathy and the superb writing of the film means there is no need for awkward or crass scenes with fights or large scale fall-out - any emotional traumas or triumphs for the characters, while implicit, are exceptionally performed leaving the audience without confusion.

A single scene - where a close friend tactfully informs Barrie that people are `talking' about his involvement with the boys - is necessary for bold statement of the darker side of the film, and is also a useful plot device for the playwright to realise his entanglement is perhaps more self-serving than he had thought, and potentially even destructive for the young family.

The performance of the entire cast is one of the resounding victories of this film, Depp is once again on devastating form and Kate Winslet is splendid as the toiling mother. Supporting roles are supplied by the wonderful Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman who plays the theatre producer and financier. For all the star-power of these figures, however, it is the four actors who play Winslet's sons who are the stellar performers, the young Peter (Freddie Highmore) especially. With child-actors of this calibre about, the future of the British film industry is in safe hands.

Finding Neverland ends with a touching denouement, in which all trials and tragedies of the characters are vindicated, and a young family coping with loss gain a little magic and a lot of love in an unexpected way. While Peter Pan's story may be told repeatedly, the process and struggles of his conception by Barrie have been done more than adequate justice by this film. It is a visual feast that will interest adults and children alike, and may be the best alternative to other failing versions of Peter Pan as it tells the story of the original boy who never grew up.

What an enchanting film! I felt like a child again when I saw this film and with all the hope and joy of what life has to offer. Johnny Depp was superb as J.M. Barrie the writer and creator of Peter Pan and Kate Winslet and Freddie Highmore were good as the mother and son he befriends who inspire him to write his greatest creation Peter Pan. The imagery was vivid and stunning and the depiction of J.M. Barrie's relationship with his 'adopted sons,' was touching and moving. Sometimes all we need to do in life at times is let our hearts feel young and never grow old and cynical just like Peter Pan. This is a good film which young and old alike will enjoy!