Where the Lost Boys Are
Miramax's fictional tale of Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie's life, Finding Neverland, is a solemn affair about rediscovering one's sense of childlike innocence. Despite a marketing push to families, this adult-oriented picture is not for the kids. That's fine. If director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) doesn't exactly make you want to play cowboys and Indians, he makes you remember why you did.
Writer David Magee provides Forster with a smart script, based on Allan Knee's play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan, and Johnny Depp brings it to life as James Matthew Barrie, a Scottish playwright who is stuck in a loveless marriage. After one of his plays bombs on opening night, much to the chagrin of his American financier, Charles Frohman (Dustin Hoffman), the man who would create Captain Hook and Tinkerbell escapes his status-conscious wife (Radha Mitchell) by taking his dog for walks in the park.
There, he discovers the lost boys of a struggling High Society widow, played by Kate Winslet. The four fatherless kids, Jack, George, Michael and Peter, play imaginary games and Barrie is delighted to play along, entertaining them with exaggerated stories of dancing bears, Indian savages and treacherous pirates. Widow Winslet is enchanted by the handsome writer's affection for her family and, as her sons are cast under his spell, only Peter (Freddie Highmore), a loner whose childhood has been robbed by his father's death, declines to embark on the trip to fantasyland.
But Barrie won't give up on Peter, encouraging him to read, write and imagine—and giving Peter what every child needs: loving guidance. By having confidence in the children, and by showing it, Barrie instills in each child a sense of self. Finding Neverland's most magical scene elevates child's play to a milestone in maturity.
The boys, Barrie and mother are trying to fly a kite when the youngest child, Michael, takes hold of the strings, runs and fails to let it rip. As Michael's older brothers mock him, with worried mother looking on, the dashing Barrie doesn't miss a beat in professing his confidence that Michael can master the kite and make it soar, provided everyone believes in him.
Depp is both sensitive and serious—his J.M. Barrie does not attempt to evade reality as he awakens his inner child—and it is one of his better performances. Winslet's widow, with whom Barrie falls in love, has her own troubles—including a nagging mother (Julie Christie in a decent role at last). Her shadowy presence is strictly a means to the end of creating Peter Pan. Though an important scene in which she earns Barrie's trust recalls her most tender Titanic moments, a romance always seems out of reach.
Barrie and the merry widow strike a fair trade, yet happiness eludes everyone, and Finding Neverland could use an extra sprinkle of fairy dust to lighten its tragic undertone. But the progression toward the Peter Pan artist's salvation is never far from appealing.
DVD Notes
Leading stars Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, writer David Magee, director Marc Forster, producers Richard Gladstein and Nellie Bellflower and, briefly, Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein make appearances in the bonus features of this DVD, which is not without flaws. A sleepy commentary by committee—Forster, Magee and Gladstein—points out that J.M. Barrie's real-life friend, Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, is the polo match pal, and Forster explains the title and the final vanishing scene—Neverland is an afterlife if you wish—but the trio's thoughts veer off track. Peter Pan's stage flying outtakes are fun and, while the Magic feature lacks focus, the Creating Neverland bit holds its own. As long as a steep price ($29.99), the sound of Gladstein's cell phone ringing and the glaring absence of Julie Christie isn't dissuasive, Finding Neverland transfers well to this format.
Writer David Magee provides Forster with a smart script, based on Allan Knee's play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan, and Johnny Depp brings it to life as James Matthew Barrie, a Scottish playwright who is stuck in a loveless marriage. After one of his plays bombs on opening night, much to the chagrin of his American financier, Charles Frohman (Dustin Hoffman), the man who would create Captain Hook and Tinkerbell escapes his status-conscious wife (Radha Mitchell) by taking his dog for walks in the park.
There, he discovers the lost boys of a struggling High Society widow, played by Kate Winslet. The four fatherless kids, Jack, George, Michael and Peter, play imaginary games and Barrie is delighted to play along, entertaining them with exaggerated stories of dancing bears, Indian savages and treacherous pirates. Widow Winslet is enchanted by the handsome writer's affection for her family and, as her sons are cast under his spell, only Peter (Freddie Highmore), a loner whose childhood has been robbed by his father's death, declines to embark on the trip to fantasyland.
But Barrie won't give up on Peter, encouraging him to read, write and imagine—and giving Peter what every child needs: loving guidance. By having confidence in the children, and by showing it, Barrie instills in each child a sense of self. Finding Neverland's most magical scene elevates child's play to a milestone in maturity.
The boys, Barrie and mother are trying to fly a kite when the youngest child, Michael, takes hold of the strings, runs and fails to let it rip. As Michael's older brothers mock him, with worried mother looking on, the dashing Barrie doesn't miss a beat in professing his confidence that Michael can master the kite and make it soar, provided everyone believes in him.
Depp is both sensitive and serious—his J.M. Barrie does not attempt to evade reality as he awakens his inner child—and it is one of his better performances. Winslet's widow, with whom Barrie falls in love, has her own troubles—including a nagging mother (Julie Christie in a decent role at last). Her shadowy presence is strictly a means to the end of creating Peter Pan. Though an important scene in which she earns Barrie's trust recalls her most tender Titanic moments, a romance always seems out of reach.
Barrie and the merry widow strike a fair trade, yet happiness eludes everyone, and Finding Neverland could use an extra sprinkle of fairy dust to lighten its tragic undertone. But the progression toward the Peter Pan artist's salvation is never far from appealing.
DVD Notes
Leading stars Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, writer David Magee, director Marc Forster, producers Richard Gladstein and Nellie Bellflower and, briefly, Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein make appearances in the bonus features of this DVD, which is not without flaws. A sleepy commentary by committee—Forster, Magee and Gladstein—points out that J.M. Barrie's real-life friend, Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, is the polo match pal, and Forster explains the title and the final vanishing scene—Neverland is an afterlife if you wish—but the trio's thoughts veer off track. Peter Pan's stage flying outtakes are fun and, while the Magic feature lacks focus, the Creating Neverland bit holds its own. As long as a steep price ($29.99), the sound of Gladstein's cell phone ringing and the glaring absence of Julie Christie isn't dissuasive, Finding Neverland transfers well to this format.
