Movie Review: Finding Neverland

Finding Neverland

It's that time of year when, rather than see every new release (many of which are weak during this early part of the season), I scramble to see what Oscar™-nominated fare I can. Sometimes, it's well worth the time and effort (I'm still not over the brilliance of the superalative Sideways). Sometimes, it's not (consider my unchanged opinion that Million Dollar Baby is significantly overrated). And sometimes, I'm ambivalent, which brings me to Finding Neverland.

Finding Neverland is (according to the official Web site) the "fictionalized account" of J.M. Barrie's creation of Peter Pan. In other words, there are characters who portray real people, but those characters don't necessarily bear much resemblence to the real people themselves. It's my understanding that Finding Neverland not only fictionalized some portions of the story, but also cleaned it up (for example, the movie shows Barrie's relationshiop with a pretty widow to be platonic; in real life, most agree that it was not). It's likely best in cases like this to look at the movie on its own rather than to compare it with any reality it might tempt us to try to recall.

The movie begins with a truth: that J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) was a well known writer in turn of the century London. His most recent play, however, isn't exactly getting rave reviews from his audiences, his chief investor (Charles Frohman, played by a bearded Dustin Hoffman), or his distant wife (Radha Mitchell). Fresh on the heals of this apparent failure, Barrie heads out for a walk in the park with his St. Bernard, Porthos, seeking inspiration for his next effort. Purely by happenstance, he meets the Llewelyn-Davies family when a game the children are playing involves the bench on which he's seated. First, Barrie meets several of four Llewelyn-Davis boys; then he meets their young widowed mother, Sylvia (Kate Winslet).

Barrie promptly joins in the children's games of imagination, and contributes his own vivid fantasies to their fun. One of the boys, however, doesn't see Porthos as a dancing bear, nor does he buy any of Barrie's other fancies. His name is Peter (Freddy Highmore), and among the children he's taken his father's death the hardest. But the boy's sensitivity and imagination rival Barrie's if he'll only develop them, and Barrie makes it a point to do what he can to bring Peter out of his mourning and into a life where he can once again have some small amount of joy.

For all that Barrie gains from the Llewelyn-Davies family, they benefit from his attention, too. Sylvia's mother, however (Mrs. DuMaurier, played by Julie Christie), is a formidable obstacle to the expanding relationship. She demands responsibility and seriousness from the children, and insists her daughter be free to seek another husband, something that Barrie is making more and more difficult for Sylvia to do. But while the dynamics of the Llewelyn-Davis family play out in laughter and pain, and Barrie's marriage continues to wither, his inspiration has also returned and he's determined despite naysayers to see Peter Pan brought to the Edwardian Theatre stage.

Johnny Depp is virtually guaranteed to give a wonderful performance, and his turn as J.M. Barrie is no exception. But the truth is that Depp, who really is very good (he's been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar™), has been better. (He was better, for example, in Pirates of the Caribbean—where, as far as I'm concerned, he was robbed of the Oscar™ for which he was also nominated). In part, that has to do with a relatively staid screenplay (strangely enough, the screenplay has also been nominated for an Oscar™ in a category which, if there is justice, will be taken by Sideways).

Kate Winslet is also good, though her character is played much on the surface thanks again to the script. Radha Mitchell has much the same problem. Julie Christie comes across as unbending to the point of being brittle, which is just where she should be, and she manages to convey all of that primarily via body language, a testament to her substantial talent; Dustin Hoffman, though offering a bit of comedic relief, is the only actor in the production who fails to have an English accent (which in a period piece is, in my mind, unpardonable). Freddy Highmore as the young Peter does a terrific job as a wistful and very wounded little boy. (His strength in this role got him the lead in the upcoming Tim Burton remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, also starring Depp; we'll see if the boy has more range next July.)

Finding Neverland is directed by Marc Forster, the man behind the brilliant Monster's Ball. Finding Neverland, however, has some confusing edits that counteract some of its more cleverly merged scenes. The sets and costumes are very good (Finding Neverland is noominated for an Oscar™ in Art Direction, something it deserves but which rightfully belongs to The Phantom of the Opera); the story is touching, tragic, and a delight by turns. But the script brings Finding Neverland down to the purely ordinary. This story deserves better.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Finding Neverland is rated PG for "thematic elements [and] brief language." Though there's little that's objectionable in the film for those older than about 10, period pieces aren't typically those that bring much joy or excitement to youngsters. Finding Neverland, though the subject matter might suggest otherwise, is no exception. Those with an interest in beautifully rendered sets and costumes will doubtless enjoy much of the film, and the stage production of Peter Pan is a sheer joy to watch. But as a whole, you'll not have missed much if you choose to miss Finding Neverland.