Depp's confident innocence in interaction with all the other characters makes the movie stand out from the lot.

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2004)

I had the great fortune to attend a preview showing of the latest Johnny Depp movie, Finding Neverland, tonight. And it is Johnny Depp's movie. However, others balance his presence, making this more of an ensemble project than many of his others. The children in particular drew me into the story, loosely based on JM Barrie's life and the creation of the play Peter Pan. It really is a wonderful script, full of nuance and discovery. Of course the English landscape is lush, but interior sets and costumes equal its splendor. The play-within-a-movie concept allows for some beautiful shots of scenery in action in a pre-electronic age. But it really all comes down to Barrie's confident innocence in interaction with all the other characters to make the movie stand out from the lot. His failing marriage, his attraction to a young widowed mother of four boys, his engagement of those boys to retrieve them from grief and the eventual emotional struggle with their grandmother -- each is a well-prepared and choreographed thread woven into a fine, warm fabric. It binds the story but allows enough light through to illuminate the magic. The only flaw, a major one overcome only by judicious use of non-speaking scenes in the last half-hour of the movie, is Dustin Hoffman's apparent inability to adopt a convincing British accent. As Barrie's producer and the owner of the theater, he begins the movie with an inoffensive affectation but ends up sounding as if he were an international investor from Brooklyn. It throws off the continuity. I would hope that, before wide release in two weeks, the director either dubs in a new voice or edits in missing footage explaining Hoffman's American background. Actually, I was surprised at this obvious error in an otherwise good performance. It truly is a magical movie and one that should garner multiple Oscar nominations and, probably, statues. I left the theater at the end wanting to take home the DVD. Warning: bring Kleenex.