Finding Neverland
If there was ever a movie that came out in theatres at the worst possible time, it was this 2004 film, released at the height of the Michael Jackson scandal which in turn compelled audiences to stay away in droves for fear they would witness the sight of Johnny Depp molesting little boys. As it is, it still garnered a ton of Oscar nominations, including the second for Depp as Best Actor, but the Jackson comparisons go much further beyond just the title. The story starring Depp as J.M. Barrie features him befriending a widow and her brood of four young sons, and before long he begins spending an inordinate amount of time with them, to the detriment of his crumbling marriage and ultimately finding the inspiration for his all time masterwork, Peter Pan, a story that continues to be a rock solid piece of our collective pop culture today (again, see Michael Jackson). The film does almost go overboard with the extensive way it shows Depp’s Barrie bonding with the four young boys, all the way to showing the imagined scenarios in the fantasy world they come to occupy which just crosses this side of self indulgence. That doesn’t change the fact the Depp succeeds in turning in a sensitive, nuanced performance, with a look into the creative mind of the real life artist he is portraying in order to show just how one of the most famous children’s stories of all time came into existence. Likewise, Kate Winslet also does well as the widow, accepting the fact that her kids have found a pseudo father figure even though there is no indication of a literal romance between the two. We also have Julie Christie on hand as the witchy grandmother who disapproves of her daughter and grandkids spending so much time with a married man especially in straight laced Victorian society, and Dustin Hoffman (himself a former cinematic Captain Hook) as the weary theater owner who finances Barrie’s plays and hopes that this eccentric tale of fairies and pirates will finally be the hit he is looking for. However, Radha Mitchell as Barrie’s wife may be the standout among the supporting players, sadly missing her husband as he drifts away into a land of make believe with another woman’s children, and getting the best acting scene when she tells him that just once, she would like to be an inspiration of some kind to him while also saying she will not tolerate his absence any longer. Unfortunately, the four boys are not as clearly delineated as one would prefer, mostly blending together as the story goes on and only identifiable when either Depp or Winslet calls one of them by name. As an overall cinematic experience though, the movie is pretty dry, moving slowly but surely along but never quite sucking the viewer in even when Neverland itself is finally revealed towards the end, albeit in a contrived, manipulative fashion. The highlight of course, is when Peter Pan actually makes its premiere, with Depp convincing Hoffman to set aside 25 seats in the theater for a gaggle of young orphans, rightfully convinced that the infectious laughter and delight of children watching the play will loosen up the stiff upper lip types and help them get into the magic of the show, one which has become a standard for nearly every grade school drama club around the world and continues to be discovered by each new generation to come…
7/10