Touching the soul of inspiration

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2004)

How do you capture that suspension of disbelief that not only makes a great movie or a great play, but is at the heart of every playful notion that has captivated a child at play, every romantic phrase that has enchanted a woman towards her dreams, every word of love that a woman has blanked everything from the mind of the man she adores, every uplifting speech of every great leader that has given hope and fortitude to the populace . . . where is the seat of that creative vision, that sees beyond the world as it is, reaches out towards the world as it could be, and communicates the joy of that vision?
Finding Neverland traces key events of a great writer, JM Barrie, whose childless and less than perfectly happy life not only found joy and fulfilment in creating such a dream, but whose story, Peter Pan, while on the surface a children's story, also examined the very ways that we exercise creativity or 'make-believe'.
Johnny Depp produces another of his perfectly-believable-and-utterly-memorable characters in the form of the troubled author and playwright. Kate Winslet, as the Sylvia whose children provide the inspiration for Peter Pan, does not yet seem to have the acting range to provide exquisitely formed new personas with every film, but her charisma nevertheless screams out from every scene (and, in accordance with every non-skeletal woman's fantasy, she looks totally ravishing). Julie Christie (who plays her mother) and Dustin Hoffman (who plays the producer of Barrie's play) are barely recognisable, giving great dignity to their supporting roles by not hogging the limelight. Kelly Macdonald, the token Scots person, provides a wonderful stage Peter Pan, covering her Scots accent almost as well as Depp contrives his (JM Barrie was from Kirriemuir in Forfar, Scotland).
Perhaps the most ironic thing about Finding Neverland is that it is a film not for children (or even teenagers) but for adults. The deep (and largely unspoken) emotion between Depp and Winslet, the process of reaching out and communicating through poetic language, the way children *do* grow up (and the way adults remain children), and where fantasy and reality begin and end - these are themes more easily recognised by those who have (or maybe always wanted to have) brought up children, rather than those children themselves. Unrequited love, the things that move an audience (and when, why and how it will move them to bring critical acclaim and their cheque books), the importance of artistic and personal legacies -all these topics are treated in a responsible way that Barrie, if he indeed fully understood the importance of what he wrote, would have been proud.
Finding Neverland cradles a lasting inspiration - perhaps one that will last into eternity.