Neverwas

Plot synopsis:
Zach Riley (Aaron Eckhart) is a psychiatrist who leaves a job at a prestigious university to take up a job at the privately run mental institution, Millwood, belonging to Dr. Reed (William Hurt). What he doesn't reveal at the time of his appointment is that this was the very place where his novelist father, T.L. Pierson (Nick Nolte), spent many years of his life as he battled chronic depression. T.L. later wrote a popular children's classic, Neverwas, about a child (based on young Zach himself) who enters a secret world to free a captive king. T.L. later committed suicide; Riley, who found the body, has always partly blamed himself for his father's death.
Riley is assigned to work with a schizophrenic patient, Gabriel Finch (Ian McKellen), and soon realizes that Finch sees himself as the captive king. As he listens to Finch and resumes his acquaintance with childhood friend Maggie Paige (Brittany Murphy) he realizes that more things link him to the book – and also to Finch's recovery – than he ever thought. T.L.'s novel was based on Finch's stories, told to him by Finch while both were patients in the hospital. Finch believes that the book is a sort of oracle confirming his personal reality, and that Riley is the boy hero. Riley comes to see himself this way in a sense, as he discovers that Finch's "hallucination" concerns actual places and events.

Tags: alternate reality, fantasy, flashback

Review:
Ian McKellan and Aaron Eckhart both give strong performances easily pulling off the emotionalism needed for the movie, and throwing in enough humor to keep you interested.
Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, William Hurt, and Brittany Murphy all pull off great supporting roles without overshadowing the main actors.
I love movies where you are drawn into the story and feel like you are actually there the whole time.
I felt like that the whole duration of the movie and forgot everything else for a short period of time.The whole fairy tale versus the real-life (sad) story is wonderfully written and works in every way.Maybe it's because I experienced the same thing with my father, as Zach does, when I was young, but the emotions that Zach goes through are very real and really made me think.
And It's good to feel that you're not the only one with these kind of emotions.The acting is fantastic, involved and emotional.The whole "autumn feel" cinematography and melancholic music sets a great mood.Neverwas touched me.I suggest you watch it if you believe just a little bit in fairy tales and want to see something different than most productions coming out from major studios at the moment..
NEVERWAS, a little miracle of a movie written and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, is an allegory, a fairytale, a dissection of the impact of mental illness on parents and children, and story of compassion, believing, and blossoming of character that was created with a sterling ensemble of actors in 2005, failed to find a niche in theatrical distribution, and went straight to DVD - becoming one of those limited release films that is very elusive even in the megavideo stores.
The reasons for this relative anonymity are not clear, but film lovers will do well searching out this little gem: the rewards are immediate gratification and long lasting satisfaction.Narrated by Ian McKellan who plays a major role in the film, the story concerns the return of psychiatrist Zachary Riley/Small (Aaron Eckhart) to an obsolete mental institution named Millhouse, the hospital where his author father T.L. Pierson (Nick Nolte) ended his days in suicide, having suffered from bipolar syndrome.
Zach wants to discover secrets about his father, why his father's book 'Neverwas' has been so disturbing to Zach, and to offer good medical treatment to those patients living in the obscure hospital run by the kindly but enigmatic Dr. Reed (William Hurt).
Zach is buoyant, greets his new job with joy, and works with various patients in group and individual therapy (the group includes well developed characters portrayed by Alan Cumming, Vera Farmiga, and Michael Moriarty, among others) and encounters the apparently mute Gabriel Finch (Ian McKellan), a delusional man who believes Zach has returned to break the curse preventing his return to his imaginary kingdom of Neverwas.Zach meets a 'grad student botantist'/reporter Ally (Brittany Murphy) who loves Zach's father's book and urges Zach to read the fairytale as a means to assuage Zach's new nightly nightmares and insomnia dealing with images of himself as a child, his father's suicide, and other strange forces.
In a tumbling set of events that incorporate the fairytale of the book Neverwas with the reality of Zach's father's relationship to Gabriel Finch brings the story to a heartwarming, well considered, touching conclusion.
The cinematography by Michael Grady manages to keep the audience balanced between real and fantasy and the musical score by renowned composer Philip Glass fits the story like a glove.
Ian McKellan gives a multifaceted performance of a man whose delusional life is far more real than his life as a mental patient, Aaron Eckhart finesses the transformation of the lost child seeking his roots with great skill, Nick Nolte gives one of his finer interpretations as the disturbed father/author, and Brittany Murphy manages to maintain a much needed lightness to the atmosphere of the mental institution story setting.
The impact of the film, while absorbing from the first images, is the ending, a reinforcement of the importance of love and nurturing that too often is relegated to little books for children instead of the manner in which we live our lives.
The scenic settings were well shot and lit, often showing the differences between the dark and lighter sides of life.I say dark, yes there are parts in this film that are hard hitting, poinient moments that really make you think and get you inside the characters being played, again i think this is down to the great acting.The flip side is the fairy tale narrative that runs through the whole film, not that it turns in to a children's film at all, as its a story I'm sure many can relate to and will enjoy being told in this fashion.
I will say it probably deserves its pg13 rating, its perhaps not for the very young, despite its fairy tale like appearance.Overall go and see this film, you wont be disappointed, i had a great time..
Also, I could urge you to give "Neverwas" your complete attention so that you do not miss the subtle hints or twists in the plot, or encourage you not to reject this film too early in the narrative because some parts may be too dark or puzzling with a modern psychological scrutiny that would endear any viewer who loves Hitchcock.
but the truth is that by watching this carefully u get (anyways i did) an idea about what really matters in your life...your dreams, your childhood (and the importance of remaining a child forever ), family, love, friends....and the most important YOURSELF....your own happiness, your own craziness,your own pleasures in life...and if that pleasure/ happiness is to live in a world of your own with kingdoms and unbelievable characters ...SO BE IT...u are a SPECIAL person......thank u :).
This film is a tale of a psychiatrist trying to find his father's past by working in the mental hospital where his father resided in.Let me begin by saying that this film is very good!
Interestingly, they both acted as psychiatrists in other recent films, namely Asylum (for Ian McKellen) and The Departed (for Vera Farmiga).Aaron Eckhart's role cannot be underestimated as well.
Towards the end of the film, when the focus changed Aaron Eckhart being a psychiatrist to him aligning with Ian McKellen to find the truth, is particularly gripping.
The plot twist is very surprising, and the finale is very emotional and visually appealing.I am very surprised that good films like this one is not released.
This movie has lots of potential, directed by first-time (well, first feature film at least) director Joshua Stern, and starring big names like Jessica Lange, Nick Nolte, Aaron Eckhart, Brittany Murphy, Alan Cumming, Sir Ian McKellen, and last but DEFINITELY not least, super-awesome retired MTV VJ Bill Bellamy.
Oh, and there was this other guy William Hurt that the organizers seemed to make a big deal of but nobody really clapped when they said his name so I'm guessing he's not that important.The story is about a psychiatrist whose father committed suicide after writing a highly acclaimed and much beloved children's book, Neverwas.
Once there, he learns some interesting things about his father's story.The movie overall was good, but it has some significant flaws.
Plus, there's a good chance that Sir Ian McKellen will be nominated for an Oscar this year for his role as Crazy Guy #4, because everybody knows the quickest way to an Oscar nomination is to either gain 50 lbs for a role, play a retard, or play a crazy person.Afterward, the director answered a few audience questions (which were mostly mundane and asinine), but the highlight was definitely when Nick Nolte (who looked like a Halloween costume and was quite possibly slightly drunk), stumbled up to the microphone to answer a question.
Zach Riley (Aaron Eckhart) is a talented, young psychologist/psychiatrist who returns to his hometown to work at the local mental institution.
Dr. Riley's father was the tormented but brilliant author of a children's book, called Neverwas, with a character named after the youth Dr. Riley.
The film is a dark, at times, fancy that wraps the stories of Dr. Riley, his father, and the mysterious patient Gabriel Finch together.
I don't write reviews very often, but this time I felt obliged to do so - this movie is meaningless, I wish I had used the last 2 hours of my life doing something else instead of watching this silly film.
It took 7 years after it's original release for me to find this gem on a popular online movie rental site, and it instantly became one of the top-ten best movies I have seen in my 43 years.The characters are not only believable and relatable, they make you cheer for them, truly hoping that good things happen to them after all they've been through.
The mystery surrounding the plot kept me further entranced as I was working out in my own mind what was real and what was fantasy (a pleasant journey similar to that of the Kevin Costner movie "Dragonfly").This film goes to show that in life sometimes our battles are very difficult to face but there is always a place that makes us feel at ease and able to press on, whether physical or otherwise.
"Neverwas" was a good family drama.The plot: Zach Riley (Eckhart) is working as a psychiatrist in the Millwood Insane Asylum.
He meets Gabriel (McKellen) who only thinks about Riley's Father (Nolte) and the fantasy book he wrote years ago.Zach realizes that the book may be true and Gabriel holds the key to it's existence.The performances are first-rate.
The movie is slow and not much happens.But overall, "Neverwas" is worth seeing for the performances and plot-line.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com.
Having watched a lot of really low budget movies in the last few weeks, it was quite a change to experience "Neverwas".
A young Psychiatrist ( Aaron Eckhart ) returns to the mental institution where his father ( Nick Nolte ) was once a patient.
Although it is supposed to be a group of patients, it quickly becomes apparent that the only one Dr. Zach Riley - as well as the movie - is interested in is a reclusive eccentric named Gabriel Finch ( Ian McKellan, doing his usual thing.
) We soon learn that Zach has his own problems, which center around his late father, a renown author of children's stories.
There is a psychological story here dealing with the relationship between Zach and his father, but it is eventually subverted by a lot of fairy tale clap-trap.
Eckhart is, by turns, suitably tortured and heroic as Zach; McKellen does his thing; Hurt is his usual semi-catatonic self and Nolte: Well, let's just say that Nolte seems to have a penchant for getting himself into movies like this.
I've seen a few movies about "magical reality" -- that fantasy zone where fairy tales and the real world cross, forcing jaded adults and child-like idealists to war over the relevance of imagination in a world full of disappointment.
Then there's "Neverwas," a film so full of unnecessary flash and "magical reality" clichés that it shames the stories from which it pilfered its name...
I can think of at least six good fantasy films starring Ian McKellen.
Don't let the allure of the cast (in addition to McKellan, Eckhardt, and Murphy, it also features William Hurt, Nick Nolte, Alan Cumming, Jessica Lang, and more) draw you in -- stay away from Neverwas!.
i watched at a film festival and me and my friends felt like leaving but we didn't want to hurt the director's feelings, who was sitting right there.
The cast is A list with extraordinary performances by Ian McKellen, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange, along with Britney Murphy and William Hurt.
Why is it many fantasy films are contained within books like The Nevereding Story which is ten times better of a movie.
Brittany Murphy actually surprised me as being pretty good in this movie.
This film also stars Nick Nolte who is Zachery's father and the author of Neverwas.
Not this time around and I wish this movie Neverwas made..
But I was unfortunately somewhat disappointed with the story told in "Neverwas".The storyline is about a psychiatrist who comes to a remote institution in his childhood area, where he grew up with his father - the author of a renowned children's book.
With the help of a schizophrenic resident at the institution, the psychiatrist comes to unravel secrets of his father's book and his part in it.While the story actually wasn't impressive or particularly exciting, then it was by the talent of Ian McKellen, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Nolte and William Hurt that the movie stayed afloat.
These actors carried the movie, but had a poor script to work with.This is hardly a movie that I will ever watch again, because it just had no appeal, and I lost concentration and focus on the screen a couple of times throughout the movie, and found myself paying attention to the phone instead.If you enjoy fantasy or fairy tales then "Neverwas" is not the best of choices to satisfy your craving.
Zach, son of a the famous author of the children's book "Neverwas" quits a position as a psychiatrist at a prominent college to go to a nobody's-heard-of-it institution in the community where he grew up.
Neverwas is a world of hope and peace, a world inhabited by fairies and in which Gabriel is the benign king.Gabriel and Zach's father meet in the mental institution.
As each go in and out of institutions, they maintain a correspond of affection and support.Gabriel's Neverwas is on land that ultimately Zach's father purchases for him.
Were we to simply see him as schizophrenic, we might feel sympathy for him, but we would never empathize with him or truly understand his needs.Unfortunately, this will lead many viewers to think this is another fantasy come true; and they will be disappointed by the "truth." However, the truths that do come out are beautiful and moving; and there is certainly the fantasy of a "happy ending", more than one has a right to expect from reality.The true story here is how people change: How Zach comes to see the need for fantasy, to forgive his father and himself; how Gabriel out of desperation has his one moment of cold reality in which he can articulate his need for Neverwas.And the movie has its moments of humor and insight and romance.For anyone willing to think and be moved, I recommend this movie highly..
I loved Neverwas, the cinematography, the soundtrack, a director who believed and a cast that were wonderful.Neverwas is about a young boy (Zachary) and his father (Nick Nolte, who by the way is excellent) and their loving but dysfunctional relationship.
The father writes a book about an ordinary man who rules over a fantasy land called Neverwas.
Zach grows up.A boy becomes a man and he forgets about the childhood stories his father told him, he forgets the good times and remembers the bad.
Here he meets the eccentric schizophrenic Gabriel (played by an wonderful Ian McKellen), Gabriel tells the story of Neverwas and how he is the king of the land.
After some digging Zach finds out that Gabriel told about the land of Neverwas ten years before his father wrote the book.
William Hurt and Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange have not been 'A-listers' for some time but they still know how to give a powerfully moving performance.
I am devoid of any real reference re Ian Mckellen and Brittany Murphy but they put in strong performances as do ones like Alan Cumming.
It turned out that the story ideas had come from the mental patient, to whom the father had never given credit.
With Ian Mckellan and Joshua Stern, and Jessica Lange, Nick Nolte, Aaron Eckhart, Brittany Murphy, Alan Cumming.
But in the end this film only works so well because of the great actors - not to forget Mr. Nolte - who create very vivid characters one can relate to.
If you don't like emotional films, then don't watch 'Neverwas'.
I just happened to stumble across it in movies Netflix thought I would like.Thanks, Netflix.From the very beginning of the story, I was hooked.
Brittany Murphy was a surprisingly pleasant addition to the cast as Maggie, and though her screen time was limited, I thought Jessica Lange perfect for the role of Zach's haunted mother.What I liked about this film is how it tackled the issue of mental illness.
I would have liked to see more of Vera Farmiga in her role, but as these both were side characters, it's understandable that they would have limited screen time.Overall, I thought the film was excellent, with the right elements of several things that make a good film - depth of emotion, suspense and mystery, a little adventure, conflict that needs to be resolved.
We don't see the whole body but as the movie unfolds we conclude it was the boy's father, an author of a famous children's book.
And always understated and good William Hurt as Dr. Peter Reed, director of the sanitarium.The title comes from the book the father wrote, a book about a modern kingdom, "Neverwas", right over the mountains that can be seen from the sanitarium.
Gabriel (Ian McKellan) is a hospitalized mental patient whose terrors of childhood abuse has driven him away from society and into the forest where he has constructed a kingdom of Neverwas.
Zack (Aaron Eckhardt) is a psychiatrist who leaves an academic career to take a position in a small mental hospital where his celebrated writer/father Tom was committed and where he encounters Gabriel, who recognizes Zack as the child of the Neverwas myth.
Haunted by the mythic story of Zack Small, the boy hero of his father's best seller children's book, also titled "Neverwas," Zack attempts to bring peace to the troubled minds of the mental patients and understand the clues which Gabriel delights in leaving for him.