Finding Neverland (Widescreen Edition) at Howling Video

Sweetness that doesn't turn saccharine is hard to find these days; Finding Neverland hits the mark. Much credit is due to the actors: Johnny Depp applies his genius for sly whimsy in his portrayal of playwright J. M. Barrie, who finds inspiration for his greatest creation from four lively boys, the sons of widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet, who miraculously fuses romantic yearning with common sense). Though the friendship threatens his already dwindling marriage, Barrie spends endless hours with the boys, pretending to be pirates or Indians--and gradually the elements of Peter Pan take shape in his mind. The relationship between Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family sparks both an imagined world and a quiet rebellion against the stuffy forces of respectability, given physical form by Barrie's resentful wife (Radha Mitchell, High Art) and Sylvia's mother (Julie Christie, McCabe and Mrs. Miller). This gentle silliness could have turned to treacle, but Depp and Winslet--along with newcomer Freddie Highmore as one of the boys--keep their feet on the earth while their eyes gaze into their dreams. Also featuring a comically crusty turn from Dustin Hoffman (who appeared in another Peter Pan-themed movie, Hook) as a long-suffering theater producer. --Bret Fetzer

Viewer Reviews
One reviewer here suggests that you should not seek out the "true" story of how Peter Pan came to be made, because if you do, and then compare the true story to this movie, your enjoyment of Finding Neverland will decrease significantly. I must respectfully disagree with that. Yes, there were a few facts that were fudged - but that's all, just a few. The core of both stories is the same: how an adult came to find a muse within children, and to use his inspiration to write a genre breaking play that gave the world one of the most endearing characters in all of fiction. Unlike many who have posted reviews, I have never been overly fond of Johnny Depp. However, that was not the case in this film. I've seen countless films of his, and enjoyed them on one level or another, but his personal involvement never affected me in a positive way. The perfect example for this is Chocolat, easily one of my favorite films, but I could have taken or left Johnny Depp. Finding Neverland has changed my opinion of Mr. Depp entirely, and I now count myself one of his fans. His performance was so understated, so sublime, so perfect that he made an admirer out of me. It takes an amazing performance to do such a thing, and this was an amazing performance. Kate Winslet was Kate Winslet: without fault, capable of evoking emotion with a simple cough. The moment she appeared on the screen seemed almost to be the beginning of the film. Rather - the moment her character and her character's children appeared on film was when it really began Winslet and Depp had terrific chemistry on screen - in fact, they may have had too much. They looked so good when they were together, that it seemed as if they should have been husband and wife. I kept expecting them to get together, but since one of the fudged facts is that Winslet's character's husband was still alive during all of this, that was impossible. The film did a wonderful job showing something that would have been highly frowned upon in today's society. A grown man, spending all of his time with children? There may have been a restraining order placed upon him with today's sensibilities. Thankfully, yesterday wasn't today.

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