Bad composition, Bad story-telling, Bad imagery, Bad character depiction

Rating: 1/10 (11 February 2005)

This movie relied heavily on (1) simplistic facial expression set in predictable scenes, and (2) the basic outline of the story featuring cliché message encouraging laughter and imagination. Everything else was distasteful. The director did a terrificly horrible job. He was bad.
(I) Problem of Image:
(a) Most shots remained too close to the actors' upper body... little variety in composition... the transition became monotone... the background was not well utilized...
(b) The image quality was ordinary... nothing special... very movie...
(c) The beauty of the time or stage was not used...
(d) The theatrical and fantasy scenes lacked imagination...
(* The rare good image was of Depp and Pete at the end. Most of the rest were junk.)
(II) Problem of Story:
(a) The character depictions went from surface to surface... There's Depp writing a little... There's his wife who reads a little bit... complains a little... There's Winslet who's a mother and who says Depp is fine... There's Winslet mom who's a little worried but who becomes quickly open to Depp... There's the children, who's cute or mature or rebellious or touching at times... There's Hoffman worried about money but who eventually recognizes Depp's achievement... But no depth... Nor is there great imagery... We see a bit of Peter Pan... just a tiny little petty bits... We have a tiny bit of fantasy... Very biographic movie... with little actual life in it.
(Why did Depp get together with his wife... Depp seems very nice but also very weak... There's mention of the neglect of his mother... envy towards his brother... there's a sense that Depp's character is far more problematic than the movie depicts... most of Hoffman's character is left unknown... we don't get a good sense of who he is, and why... This movie could of been better if it depicted Depp as someone more sad... and the kids fate (childhood to their suicides and accidental deaths in actual life) as a tragicomedy of life... the mothers as sad object and embodiment of instinctive affection and traditional society... a more kubrick version of this film with a tim burton orientation would of been better than the current "i'm so sweet" version.)
(b) The message about imagination is conveyed with little fantasy... Most scenes are very earthly in a boring sense... Most shots are face oriented... thus dependent on facial gestures... while the general image quality is ordinary... The characters display simple emotions within a predictable cliché situation... The result is plain.
(c) The message about belief is conveyed with strong reliance on the sickness and death of the mother... (We're supposed to swallow the message by the power of the tragedy of her situation... and the need to overcome it... ) The distinction between good and bad belief is unclear... And the importance of believing and imagining is only affirmed in a microcosmic way (in relation to the mother) and thus the message remains shallow in a broad scope... The movie shows little of what Depp achieves with imagination... we just see bits of his play... that tries to be cute and moralistic, but risks being just cheesy and preachy because they lack both sophistication of words and craftiness of composition. And the movie shows little of what anyone else achieves with imagination.
Imo, "Finding Neverland" stinks.