Johnny Depp Does Well With A Serious Role In A Slow Starter That Becomes Quite Touching

Rating: 6/10 (15 August 2012)

I found that it took a while for this movie to really pick up steam. It seemed for a good while to be poorly structured and paced, with characters who weren't really hitting home with me. I was getting the connections. I understood that young Peter was going to be the inspiration for Peter Pan, or that Barrie's dog would have a role to play in the story, and I understood the significance of the game of cowboys and Indians. But still, somehow, this wasn't really hitting home with me. Then ... Sylvia got sick and couldn't go to opening night but the orphans showed up for the premiere of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. That's when this took off for me and became a very powerful and very touching movie.
It's the story of Scottish author and dramatist J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp), who is most famous for his creation of Peter Pan. It dramatizes the relationship he developed with young widow Sylvia Davies (Kate Winslow) and her four sons, who provide him with the inspiration for the story; who become, in a way, his "muses."
The story takes some licence, particularly in the relationship between Barrie and the Davies family. Barrie knew Arthur Davies (the boys' father and Sylvia's husband) long before he ever met Sylvia, for example, although the movie doesn't give that impression. So the relationship between Barrie and Sylvia is a bit misleading. (In real life, Barrie claimed that he and Sylvia were engaged to be married before she died; she never mentioned this to anyone or in her will.) It still makes for a powerfully touching concluding part of the movie, though, as Sylvia laments from her sickbed that she's never seen "Neverland," and Barrie manages to stage a production of "Peter Pan" for her in her home. Sylvia's obvious awe at seeing the play does touch the emotions.
Depp and Winslet did well together. This was a more serious performance that we often see Depp in. I think his frequent partnership with director Tim Burton in often "quirky" movies can give the impression that he isn't really a "serious" actor. Teamed in this with director Marc Forster, Depp showed that he could handle a role with some depth to it.
I still struggled with the first half of this, though. And, although dramatic licence with a true story doesn't usually bother me, in this case I thought a little too much dramatic licence was taken. The only movie I can think of to compare this to might be the 2006 movie "Miss Potter," the story of Beatrix Potter and how she developed the story of "The Tale Of Peter Rabbit." "Miss Potter" was better, although this turns out to be not bad. (6/10)