Never Say Never

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2005)

The whole idea of Peter Pan always annoyed me as a kid, and even more so lately thanks to the real life plight of Wacko Jacko and his Neverland ranch. As such, I had great reservations about "Finding Neverland." The whole "unlock your imagination" and "inspired by a true story" nature of the plot seemed trite, and from the earliest previews it was obvious Kate Winslet's character was going to die. But even so, thanks to solid direction from the up-and-coming Marc Forster, and engaging performances from the entire cast (most notably of course Johnny Depp sporting an excellent accent and Kate Winslet fantastic as always) this wishy-washy tear jerker was kept afloat in spite of itself. In the end we are charmed by a nice period piece showing us how J. M. Barrie found inspiration for his most famous work after befriending a widow and her young sons. It's a crowd pleaser, even though this sappy pseudo-factual stuff is not normally my cup of tea.