Neat, nice and very emotional - pulling at the human race's collective heartstrings

Rating: 7/10 (2 August 2006)

I think that 'Peter Pan' is a story so classical and so embedded in our hearts, that a film dealing with the man behind the works and the boys who inspired his imagination, is just bound to touch you.
Finding Neverland proves me right in this. It bravely plunges into the whimsical imagination land of J.M Barrie (Johnny Depp), documenting his life and experiences in the year that he wrote the play Peter Pan -- the boy who never grew up. Moreover, we follow Barrie as he develops a strong bond with a family of a mother (Kate Winslet) and her four lively boys. These are the charismatic, nuanced characters who inspire the author to write, feel and believe.
Marc Forster's Finding Neverland is a quiet, somewhat flawed, masterpiece. I say 'quiet' because it is not a film that revolutionizes anything or completely blows you away - it is a lovely little piece that warms your heart. It features a uniformly strong cast, a cute storytelling technique and overall satisfying developments in the plot which is kept focused by assured direction.
Although it is deeply emotional most often in a classy kind of way, Finding Neverland falls prey to the cheesy Hallmark moment approach on one or two occasions, and you feel that it sometimes jerks you for tears just a bit too purposely. This is mainly in regards to Sylvia's frosty authoritative mother who goes through the clichéd character developments (I won't spoil anything here, but you can guess it). I suppose I fell victim to this however, seeing as how I cried uncontrollably for nearly the entire second half.
I noticed something interesting about this film; the format in which it was shot is different from anything I've ever seen, appearing just a bit more colorful than the average blockbuster -- sharp colour contrasts, seemingly highlighting each detail. This is a nice colourful touch to an already colourful film. A strong 7/10.