You've Got to Use Your Immigration

Rating: 7/10 (10 January 2010)

"Well-known playwright James M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) finds his career at a crossroads when his latest play flops and doubters question his future. Then, by chance, he meets a widow (Kate Winslet) and her four adventurous boys. Together they form a friendship that ignites the imagination needed to produce Barrie's greatest work! An enchanting big-screen treat with an acclaimed cast of stars, 'Finding Neverland' has been hailed as one of the year's best motion pictures!" according to the film's official synopsis.
This lavishly-produced biography of the famed "Peter Pan" author is noted to have been "Inspired by True Events" during the opening - but, it plays like an overly sentimentalized Hollywood fairy tale. Director Marc Forster, with cinematographer Roberto Schaefer, once again shows (as in "Monster's Ball") the wherewithal to deliver a perfect ten; indeed, this is a visually stunning film. Mr. Depp and a marvelous cast and crew help, but this story just doesn't rise to the occasion. "Finding Neverland" is simply lovely.
******* Finding Neverland (9/4/04) Marc Forster ~ Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Freddie Highmore, Julie Christie