Finding Your Bliss

Rating: 8/10 (7 May 2005)

Winslet keeps getting better with age, and of course Johnny Depp is his usual, top-notch best. British actress Julie Christie plays the seemingly evil 'Captain Hook' grandmother, Mrs. Du Maurier, who tries to prevent a social scandal among the upper-crust Londoner set; Johnny Depp's character, J.M. Barrie, ingratiates himself on a widow (Du Maurier's daughter) and her four children.
The scandal involves the fact that Barrie is already married, and that--from Victorian society's perspective--the close relationship that develops between Barrie and the young boys is... suspicious, to say the least. But there is no such ulterior motives afoot: Barrie develops a healthy, platonic bond with Mrs. Davies and her children... and innocence and love reign supreme.
Obviously, the widow Mrs. Davies (played by Winslet) is the inspiration (or corollary) for the 'Wendy' character in Barrie's play/novel "Peter Pan," but this is just my personal hunch. The viewer of this tear-jerking gem will have to do the research for him- or herself. Finally, it is not surprising to know that this film was nominated for several Academy Awards.