To be a kid again

Rating: 9/10 (31 October 2004)

With a wonderful cast, great direction and plot line, the visually lovely Finding Neverland is a movie for both children and adults to watch -undoubtedly much moreso for the latter. The film is moving and inspirational without being sentimental or manipulative, and surely Johnny Depp's performance and Mark Forster's direction will garner award buzz. Watch out for Freddie Highmore's surprisingly precocious and sad Peter Davies -perhaps another Paquin.
The movie deals with the socially constructed rigid identities of child and adult, the theme, of course, in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. It unravels the story of how Barrie (Depp) finds the inspiration for his story through his interactions with the Davies children. To play to this point, director Forster subtly interweaves special effects to "real" moments, paying tribute to the quiet beauty of the imagination.