A Look Inside Famous Playwright's Mind
Movie Reviewer, a storyteller, A Big Giant Sap, a believer of fate, mother of 2
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MAY
22
2008
Finding Neverland —
I hadn't really heard much about Finding Neverland until I read the reviews here on viewpoints.com. From everything I read, I knew this was something I needed to see, and I immediately put it on my queue at blockbuster.com. Once the DVD came in the mail, I saved it for just that right time to watch it with my kids. I especially wanted my teenage son to see it, as he's always been one to enjoy reading the classics and seems to get extra enjoyment out of learning the story behind things.Johnny Depp stars as James Barrie, already a successful playwright. On an afternoon in the park, he meets a widow, Mrs. Davies (Kate Winslet), and her four sons, one of them named Peter. He uses his writer's imagination to play with them in the park, and loses track of time. They all begin meeting in park regularly, all of them enjoying each other's company, much to the chagrin of Barrie's wife and Mrs. Davies' over-protective mother (Julie Christie).
We get to take a look inside Barrie's head and brilliant creative mind as he develops his idea for Peter Pan through his play with the young Davies boys. Peter becomes the main character in the play, and as things deteriorate both in the Davies family's life as well as Barrie's own life, he dreams of a place called Neverland where problems don't seem to exist. All of his characters in the play come to life based on the people in his life, the Davies, his wife, etc.
Johnny Depp does his usual great characterization. He becomes Barrie, just as he became Edward Scissorhands and Jack Sparrow. Kate Winslet, of course, does very well as the martyr, as does Julie Christie as the grandmother, but the character that will draw you in just as much as Barrie is Peter, played by Freddie Highmore. He seems to be in every movie lately that calls for a good performance by a young boy (Spiderwick Chronicles, August Rush, The Golden Compass). It's also the second time he's worked with Depp, working with him previously in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Interesting enough, when I watch Peter Pan, it always takes on a very dark feel around a certain point, just as Finding Neverland did. Yet seeing this dark period in the movie, it somewhat surprised me, even though I was understanding the connection by this point. It was a little on the dark side for my 11 year old daughter and she fell asleep early on, but my 15 year old son thoroughly enjoyed this, understanding all the connections, just as I did. Now I can't wait to watch Peter Pan again with a whole new perspective, knowing what went into the writing of the story.
Finding Neverland is recommended by LauraBelle
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