Finding Neverland (2004) - Film Review
"Young boys should never be sent to bed... they always wake up a day older."
London, 1903: four lads, three women, and J.M. Barrie in the year he writes "Peter Pan." After one of his plays flops, Barrie meets four boys and their widowed mother in the park. During the next months, the child-like Barrie plays with the boys daily, and their imaginative games give him ideas for a play.
Simultaneously, a friendship deepens with Sylvia, the lads' mother, to the chagrin of his wife Mary, with whom he spends little time (separate bedrooms), the widow's mother, and high society, which gossips about his attraction to the widow and to her sons. As Sylvia's health worsens, Barrie's ties to the boys strength and he must find a way to take his muse to Neverland.
Classic novelistic film that shows even adults can enjoy and exercise the human imagination, Finding Neverland remains to me to be a childhood adult simple story of love, loss, and importance in family. I found Johnny Depp’s performance to be rather very good and overall thoroughly convincing. I enjoyed the storyline. the actors, and development of the characters throughout the film. Kate Winslet’s performance was very enjoyable and the entire cast to be totally chemistry driven and successful in taking me into this story of a man and his imaginative mind and love for this children in need of some fun in their lives. The musical score of the film gave an added emotional sense to the character’s development and crisis’ throughout. While it is a drama film and has its adults themes of human loss and terminal illness, my overall impression is upbeat. A great Friday night calming film choice and moralistically fruitful and enlightening.