Monday, March 26, 2012

Finding Neverland

Marc Forster's Finding Neverland could be viewed as merely a biopic on J.M. Barrie. In some eyes, the film could be viewed as an allegory on dying youth.

Barrie (Johnny Depp) at the start of the film is a moderately successful playwright. However, he isn't happy. His newest play flops, his marriage is dwindling, and society expects him to be a decent member of it rather than an immature one.

Enter Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet), a widow with four young sons. She is struggling with raising them by herself, her mother (Julie Christie) providing little to no help. Barrie provides for the boys a world they probably never encountered with their father.

However, Peter (Freddie Highmore) is beyond hesitant with accepting Barrie as a sort of substitute father. He doesn't want anyone to replace his father. He also isn't as won over by Barrie's imagination like his brothers are. But slowly he starts to accept Barrie.

Finding Neverland is very good. Depp, Winslet and Highmore deliver fine performances while Forster channels those performances to make something memorable. You never see movie magic like this anymore.

My Rating: ****

1 comment:

  1. I liked the movie, but I thought other than performances and music it was quite forgettable.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are appreciated. More so if they are appropriate.