Heart-warming escape from reality

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2005)

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, as even though it turned out to be entirely different from what the title suggested to me, it was an amazing story of fantasy blended with a degree of reality. The movie is based around the idea that a brilliant man, Sir James Barrie played by Johnny Depp, brought his failing career as a playwright back to life with a children's play inspired by a family he meets by chance one day in the park. The beginning drags a little as everything seems cheery and there is no conflict at all, but luckily Depp's acting is so great that he holds the interest of the audience until the story moves onto more exciting events and revelations.
I was slightly disappointed in the way that many of the characters had been written and can only assume that the stereotypical traits they displayed were incorporated so that young children could more easily follow the story without being distracted by complex characters. However, this assumption goes against the fact that 'Finding Neverland' is a fairytale for grownups. The issues it deals with are more suited to a mature audience: dealing with heartbreak and loss, the notion of 'growing up' and being expected to shoulder responsibility rather than enjoy a carefree life, as well as the idea that the mind is a powerful tool and imagination limited only to each individual.
Johnny Depp stands out as the star of the show, and was the perfect choice for the role of a grown man who remains a passionate child at heart. I was also very impressed with the final 'production' of Peter Pan within the movie. The sets were astonishing and really made you believe that what you were seeing was real, in a way similar to the effect created by earlier scenes where we saw through the eyes of the main character. I have high praise for the young girl who played the role of Peter Pan within the play, as her belief in what she was saying came through convincingly without the overdone acting so common with inexperienced actors/actresses.
Overall this film was charming with the innocence of a childlike mind and I found myself in tears during the final few scenes as my emotions, which had been subtly manipulated over the course of the film, rose to such a level that I felt pain as if I were one of the characters in the story myself.