“Finding Neverland” (Miramax)
“Finding Neverland” is the beautifully told story of Sir James M Barrie and the events that led him to create the story of “Peter Pan.” Johnny Depp stars as Barrie and it is one of his best performances in a long line of solid performances. The film, directed by Marc Forster, is a sweetly sad but always engaging story of the child inside the man and the man inside the child.
The film opens with Barrie writing plays for the London stage. His latest one is not that successful and his producer (Dustin Hoffman) is getting discouraged with backing him. Barrie’s personal life is also in the doldrums. He and his wife Mary (Radha Mitchell) are still living together but are no longer in love. Barrie spends most of his days in the park with his dog.
One day he meets Sylvia Davies (Kate Winslet), a widow with four sons and an imperious mother (Julie Christie). Barrie becomes fascinated with the boys and with their mother. He begins to spend so much time with them that there is talk about his involvement. Sylvia ignores the talk but her mother takes it to heart.
All of the characters in this film are fascinating from Barrie and Sylvia to all four of the boys. The film starts out a trifle slow but quickly brings the audience into the hearts of these characters and never lets them go. By the film’s end you are hopelessly involved and want the story to go on and on.
This is one of Depp’s finest performances ever and he is sure to gain award nominations for this role. He gives Barrie every bit of shading necessary to make the man a totally likeable human being, and an enchanting one. Depp does it with his looks, his style and his ability to be completely absorbed by a role. You forget Captain Jack Sparrow and every other character Depp has played in the past. He is James Barrie and nothing else matters.
Winslet is his equal as Sylvia. She manages to make this ordinary mother of four extraordinary. There is never any overt demonstration of the feelings between Barrie and Sylvia but you get their feelings through omission rather than commission. Theirs is a love story shown through glances and touches and longing looks. It is heartbreakingly evident to the audience that this is a great love story – at least on screen.
It is hard to believe that Julie Christie can have the role of the grandmother but she handles it with conviction. Plus she still has those Christie looks and they don’t seem to have been whittled away by a surgeon’s knife. She is an actress who has aged with grace and is still a presence on screen.
Dustin Hoffman is the only member of the cast who seems out of place. His role is minor and he plays it with no great effect. You wonder if there were scenes that were cut or why else would he have taken such a small part.
The movie is rated PG for adult themes.
“Finding Neverland” is a jewel of a film that can be treasured by us all. It is beautifully directed by Marc Forster with a solid screenplay by Allan Knee and David McGee. And then there is that almost perfect cast. It is a surprisingly good movie that you don’t want to miss.
I scored “Finding Neverland” a grown up 8 out of 10.
