A remarkably moving story

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2005)

Fellow Movie Afficionados, I walked into the movie theatre: 1) to see two of the best actors of my generation (Depp & Winslet), 2) not having any background on JM Barrie, 3) not really even knowing the story of Peter Pan, and 4) not really "believing in Neverland." This protocol (seeking out films with good acting regardless of the storyline) has served me well in the past; I'm sure I am not alone in saying that there are occasions in which I am driven by a film to read the book or more upon which it is based. Although I later found that certain artistic and factual "liberties" were taken to tell this version of the story of "Neverland", I am not disappointed. This is a telling that brings to the foreground the universal truths and feelings that become more warm and hued -- if sometimes difficult to accept -- as one grows older. Johnny Depp is exceptional in turning in an appropriately subtle, moving performance as a man who can't be who his wife, theatrical agent, and other adults want or expect him to be. At least not until he meets a young widow (Winslet, in a poignant turn) and her sons, who adore and accept him just the way he is. I will not further elaborate on the plot; instead, I offer that, for those of you who are,like me, sentimental "fools" who spend most of their work-week as "human-doings" in an effort to project a hard-bitten corporate visage that may serve us well on the promotion ladder but does little to improve us as human-beings. . .this is definitely a DVD to buy for the Sunday afternoons in which you can take a private break from the rat-race, and believe once more that "whatever lies ahead is nothing compared to what lies within."