SHEDDING INK

Finding Neverland

Let's get one thing straight: Johnny Depp is the best actor working today. No one else is capable of jumping between such drastically different roles and making them all eminently believable. This time, Depp gives Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie a deeply introspective serenity as he grapples with his struggling marriage and watching the four boys of his widow friend Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Winslet) deal with tragically grown-up issues while trying to help them remain children as well. As his relationship with Davies and her children blossoms, so too does Barrie's long-developing concept of Neverland, a place where no one ever has to grow-up and deal with the realities of adulthood. Ultimately, of course, Neverland is just a fantasy and the struggles of real life cannot be suppressed or ignored; but the respite Neverland provides to the Davies boys, their mother and Barrie himself proves to be invaluable.

- December 26, 2004

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Finding Neverland (2004)

Playwright J.M. Barrie befriends a widow and her four children, who become the inspiration for his play, Peter Pan.


Directed by Marc Forster


Written by David Magee; based on the play by Allan Knee


Starring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell, Dustin Hoffman, Freddie Highmore

106 minutes
Rated PG (adult themes)

Grade: A-