Finding Neverland (2004)

Finding Neverland (2004)

Producer: Film Colony, Director: Marc Forster
Miramax

Reviewed by Popcorn and the Kernels - 4/12/05

The movie opens with a play being performed in London, in 1903, and a worried J.M. Barrie (Johnnie Depp) pacing behind the stage.  From the beginning, we're given insight into the ambitions of the young playwright: he desperately wants to use his imaginative powers to entertain the audience and establish his name as a great one.  Yet he struggles to be commercially successful in the upscale community, too.

He lives childless with a cold, socially ambitious Mrs. Barrie (Radha Mitchell).  Partly to alleviate the sterility of his marriage, Barrie takes walks in the park with his dog.  There he encounters four boys playing under the eye of their mother, the beautiful, frail, aristocratic widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslett).  Barrie becomes friends with the boys and with Mrs. Davies, the relationships causing a lot of mean gossip.

Needless to say, Barrie falls in love with his new family, first the boys—who provide the inspiration for his play Peter Pan—then the woman, who is spirited, emotional, and returns his kind affection.  In keeping with the times, any feelings of romantic love between Barrie and Davies remain unfulfilled, while Barrie continues to draw inspiration from the innocence of the children—even the obstinate Peter, played superbly by Freddie Livermore.

The boys become his muses, fueling his creation of the classic stage play, Peter Pan.  The townspeople may cluck, the boys' grandmother (Julie Christie) and Barrie's wife may rain down negative vibes, and his producer (Dustin Hoffman) may worry about Barrie's sanity, but eventually the play is made.  Barrie issues a special free invitation to 20 or so youngsters from the local orphanages for opening night, and the play becomes an instant, stirring success.  The movie effectively conveys the magical, childlike excitement of the event.

Sadly, Mrs. Davies has an incurable cancer and continues to decline.  Barrie goes to great lengths to save her, helping with her caregiving, doing special performances in her home, and creating the illusion of Neverland for her.  "Neverland" is a place of incredible beauty just for you, if you believe.

This movie is strangely powerful, deeply moving.  What is surprising is it never turns maudlin—we remain firmly based in reality while recognizing the joys of imagination.  One appreciates Johnnie Depp's performance, which is constantly, exactly aware of the low-key, yet animating ambitions of the benevolent soul of Peter Pan's author.  The other actors blend their efforts seamlessly into a warm, satisfying testament to the "better angels of our nature."  The movie's technicality is also a perfect fit.  Very human, very loving.

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