For the first time since "Scissorshands", I do not want to punch Depp

Rating: 9/10 (2 April 2005)

Johnny Depp has long been one of my least favorite actors. Ever since the teeny-bopper cop show "21 Jump Street", he has gotten by more on his looks than his talent. Ever since he quit that show to pursue movie stardom, his high esteem amongst critics and fans has largely rested on his eclectic taste in roles rather than his actual performances. The only time (until this film) that I ever saw him give a truly great performance was in "Edward Scissorshands". Most of the rest of the time--even in well-written & well-directed fare such as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "Donnie Brasco" and "Blow"--he has given wooden performances complete with a Costner-esque monotone. And on the flip side, every once in a while--in order to cement his reputation as an out-of-the-mainstream oddball--he will give a performance that is completely over the top (e.g. "Ed Wood", "Benny & Joon", "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas"). Lately, in such fare as "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Secret Window", he has insisted on playing characters his own age (41). This would be all well and good if he looked a day over 23 (I'm eight years younger than he is, but he looks eight years younger than I do. Grumble, grumble, grumble).
But in "Finding Neverland", Depp has finally given a performance that balances whimsy & restraint, youthfulness & maturity, strange & normal. Much of this, I believe, is due to the the fact that he plays a character who has to be a responsible adult & a good playmate for children both at the same time.
James Barrie (Depp) is a famous Scottish playwright living in London in 1903. His latest play is a flop & his marriage has deteriorated to the point where he and his wife (Radha Mitchell) refuse to sleep in the same bedroom together. In order that he is able to write his next play--and in order to temporarily escape his aforementioned cares--he goes to the park every day with his giant Newfoundland, Porthos. One day he sees Porthos playing with three young boys, and finds a fourth hiding under the park bench he is sitting on. He quickly gets to know these boys and their mother, Sylvia Llewellyn-Davies (Kate Winslet in her best performance since "Heavenly Creatures"), and decides he enjoys playing with them as much--if not more--than Porthos does.
But all is not well with the Llewellyn-Davies family. Although the childless Barrie is delighted that he gets to indulge his paternal instincts with these boys, it is balanced by the knowledge that the boys' real father recently died & that is not the last major tragedy they will have to endure in the near future. Although under the British caste system they are upper class, they are virtually penniless, which puts them at the mercy of their uptight control-freak grandmother (Julie Christie, as beautiful as ever at 63). All this puts a strain on the family, particularly 12-year-old Peter (Freddie Highmore), who dismisses Barrie's attempts to bond with the children through playtime as "all a bit of silliness, really". Barrie worries that Peter is in too big of a hurry to grow up. Needless to say, even though Barrie is the lead character, Peter is the film's emotional center.
As the film progresses and his relationship with the Llewellyn-Davies family deepens, we see visually stunning representations of the inner workings of Barrie's imagination (which he calls "Neverland") as he is inspired to write his greatest play, and the only work of his to outlive him, "Peter Pan".
This is not a perfect movie, by any means. Some of the dialog probably looked better on the printed page than it sounds coming out of the mouths of the actors.
But this is Johnny Depp's best performance in 14 years. And it's a wonderful DVD to rent for children, particularly if they have lost a loved one and are struggling to cope. Plus it's always delightful to watch Dustin Hoffman steal every scene he's in. 9 out of 10.