Finding Neverland
Tags: dramatic, cute, fantasy, boring, romantic

Plot synopsis:
The story focuses on Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, his platonic relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and his close friendship with her sons named George, Jack, Peter and Michael, who inspire the classic play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Never Grew Up.
Following the dismal reception of his latest play, Little Mary, Barrie meets the widowed Sylvia and her four young sons (George, Jack, Peter and Michael) in Kensington Gardens, and a strong, close friendship develops between them. He proves to be a great playmate and surrogate father figure for the boys, and their imaginative antics give him ideas which he incorporates into a play about boys who do not want to grow up, especially one named after troubled young Peter Llewelyn Davies. Although Barrie sees this family as wonderful and inspirational, people question his relationship with the Llewelyn Davies family. Sylvia was a widow: her husband died from cancer and left her with four boys to bring up on her own. Barrie's wife Mary, who eventually divorces him, and Sylvia's mother Emma du Maurier, object to the amount of time Barrie spends with the Llewelyn Davies family. Emma also seeks to control her daughter and grandsons, especially as Sylvia becomes increasingly weak from an unidentified illness. Along the way, Barrie goes on these adventures with Sylvia and her boys. He too is a boy at heart and spending time with the family is special. Barrie takes those adventures he has with the boys making them into a play called Peter Pan.
Producer Charles Frohman skeptically agrees to mount Peter Pan, despite his belief that it holds no appeal for upper-class theatergoers. Barrie peppers the opening night audience with children from a nearby orphanage, and the adults present react to their infectious delight with an appreciation of their own. The play proves to be a huge success. Barrie is all set for his play, but when Peter arrives alone to the play, Barrie goes to Sylvia's house to check up on her, and misses the show. Peter attends the play and realises the play is about his brothers and Barrie.
Sylvia is too ill to attend the premiere, so Barrie arranges to have an abridged production of it performed in her home. He gets the actors, props and musicians together in the Llewelyn Davies house. At the end of the play, Peter Pan points to the back doors and implies that Sylvia should go off to Neverland. She takes the hands of her boys and slowly walks out into Neverland. The living room and back garden transform into Neverland and Sylvia continues to walk on her own.
In the next scene everyone is at Sylvia's funeral. Barrie discovers that her will says that he and her mother should look after the boys, an arrangement agreeable to both. The film ends with J. M. Barrie finding Peter on the bench in the park where they first met after Peter ran off from the graveyard. Peter is holding his book where he wrote the plays that he ripped apart and that his mother glued back together for him. Barrie sits down and puts his arm around Peter to comfort him. They both fade, and all that is left is the bench.

Review: Marc Forester's fascinating film biography adapted by David Magee from Allan Knee's play, "The Man Who Was Peter Pan," now comes to us in this delightful, moving account, 'Finding Neverland.' It presents historical reality between lushly imagined expeditions to a fictitious Neverland.
It's performed impeccably by Johnny Depp as Sir James Mathew Barrie and an extraordinary cast under the able direction of Marc Forster.This is the loveliest film of the year, highly recommended.
Although the film deserves all the praise it gets, it is understandable that moviegoers are a little weary with another dramatic period piece, with another "oscar caliber" cast, about yet another take on Peter Pan.The bottom line is, this movie is phenomenal.
Exploring the major theme of Barrie's play (that of a boy who never grows up), Finding Neverland refrains from condemning grown-ups, but exalts the wild magic one can enjoy as a kid.
The boys playing the Davis kids are a lot of fun to watch and play their dramatic parts perfectly.If you want something where all the pieces of the magic puzzle that is movie-making come together with grace, charm, and humanity, you won't find a more rewarding film than this..
Every minute of this movie was simply incredible -- I felt like the kids in the theater on the opening night of Peter Pan. Johnny Depp is absolutely astounding, as he usually is, as JM Barrie.
Without a doubt, a film worthy of Oscar nominations for Depp, screenplay adaptation, cinematography (the pirate ship scene is gorgeous), and best movie of the year.
Find Neverland!Marc Forster ('Monster Ball') has created a lovingly tender look at the playwright JM Barrie (Johnny Depp) in 1903 when, down on his luck with theater flops, unfulfilled by a marriage of Victorian standards to a beautiful but aloof and social climbing wife Mary (Radha Mitchell), and with writer's block, he encounters the Llewellyn Davies family - a widow Sylvia (Kate Winslet) and her four boys, George (Nick Roud), Jack (Joe Prospero), Michael (Luke Spill) and Peter (Freddie Highmore) - playing blissfully in Kensington Gardens.
Barrie is captivated, draws the boys to him with his patient and infectious enthusiasm for play, and bonds with this family, gaining the obvious seeds for his highest achievement or creation, PETER PAN.How these seeds grow, despite the soft, yet supportive, growling of his producer Charles Frohman (Dustin Hoffman) and the not so soft interference of Sylvia's wealthy haughty mother Madame du Maurier (Julie Christie), form the storyline of this film.
The other characters, likewise, garnish the central story excellently.The only flaw I saw is, I'm sure, a matter of taste and perspective; I felt the grandmother was simply too two-dimensional and not as believable as she should have been, though she, too, had some beautiful moments that truly added to the film.Having much experience with divorce (being a divorce attorney) I found the unfortunate relationship between Depp's character and his wife believable to a tee: two people deeply in love with each other yet more committed to personal pursuits than tending the difficult relationship we call marriage.
With Johnny Depp as the lead character, James Matthew Barrie, you know he will be ideal for the role of someone inspired by creativity considering the unique feeling Depp can bring to any film.
It helped that I now knew Freddie Highmore from his subsequent starring role in "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" and it helped to watch this on my best TV which highlighted the magnificent cinematography in here.This is simply a beautifully-filmed movie, stunning in parts, and a touching story that gets you involved and makes you think.
He did a great job of it, too, coming across as a very likable character: J.M. Barrie, the author of "Peter Pan."The story offers an interesting dilemma: was Barrie an innocent friend helping out a family desperately in need a father figure, or was he "out of bounds" spending too much time with another family while he had a wife sitting home alone?
:)The performance of Mr Depp and Ms Winslet is absolutely astonishing, they both contribute so much to this movie and i had a hard time finding myself not believing their characters.
Depp's sheer and utter brilliance is complemented by an amazing supporting cast consisting of Kate Winslet, who gives an awe inspiring performance as Sylvia Lewelyn Davies; Freddie Highmore, who as Peter himself,proves to the audience, that he is quite the scene stealer; Radha Mitchell as Mr. Barrie's beautiful (and lonesome, once Barrie meets the Lewelyn-Davies family)wife; and Julie Christie, as Kate Winslet's mother.
This is a movie that moves anyone I guess, it has natural charm and delivers the true story of J.M. Barrie, his life and times in such a wonderful manner.
"Finding Neverland" is actually one of those rare movies that doesn't go over-the-top and none of the dramatic moments feel forced."Finding Neverland" is a biopic based on the life of play-writer J.M. Barrie, best known as the creator of Peter Pan. The story takes a few liberties with the truth, just like every good biopic always has done.
The movie is not all joy, there also are some dramatic moments that work really well and powerful in the movie without ever going over-the-top.The cast is impressive; Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Freddie Highmore, Julie Christie but perhaps the most underrated actor of the movie is Dustin Hoffman.
I had already held both Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet in high regard as actors, but their performances in this film have turned that regard to admiration.As playwright JM Barrie, I was expecting that Depp would be a man searching for a child's imagination, but he finds so much more, with the love and compassion of a child unfolding in him throughout his performance.
Seeing this movie made me want to watch Edward Scissorhands again, as Depp really seems to have built on that subtle style of his, and found brilliance in this movie.If you want to find a parallel for Kate Winslet's role in Finding Neverland, just think of a woman in a desperate situation, who has a very pushy mother, who finds somebody that opens up a new world of possibilities.
To have four children do such a wonderful job as the actors who played Sylvia's (Kate Winslet's) sons, is a genuine treat to see.As for the story, it is quite simply about finding Neverland, as the characters each endeavour to find their own Neverland in their own way, no matter how great or small.
There's nothing the Academy likes better than congratulating itself for finally noticing patterns put in place over the previous thirty years.From the New Yorker article "Lost Boys" by ANTHONY LANE: "Arthur Llewelyn Davies, also adored his boys, and it may be unfair of "Finding Neverland" to omit him, for streamlining purposes, from the scene; by the time that Johnny Depp meets Kate Winslet, she is already a widow, whereas Arthur was very much alive when Barrie first entered the consciousnessand, little by little, the homeof the Llewellyn Davies family."Finding Neverland" is a weepie.
The cast give great performances, from Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet to the children, particularly Freddie Highmore as Peter.
Finding Neverland, a movie of the life of Sir James Matthew Barrie, his relationship with the Lewellyn Davies family, and imagination.
While in the park one day he runs into a perfect inspiration for his play, the Davies family, Peter, Jack, George, Michael, and Sylvia, the mother, which leads him to write Peter Pan.Much speculation has arisen over the years that Barrie had an inappropriate relationship with the Davies boys, so this story would be short lived today.
Barrie keeps telling the boy to imagine things, by believing, dreaming, and making it real for yourself.Honestly, best movie of the year.
He plays homage to the legacy this man left behind, namely, "Peter Pan", the eternal hopeful story of what's good in mankind and how children will always know better that believing and hoping are the best ways to counter attack the cynicism around them.The casting of Johnny Depp as Sir James, is one of the most felicitous details this movie has going for itself.
But I recommend those who are young at heart and loved the book/play/movie of Peter Pan, to watch the story behind it..
There is a terrific performance from Freddie Highmore as young Peter, Dustin Hoffman is fun as J.M. Barrie's sponsor and of course the great Julie Christie is flinty and wonderful as Kate's mother able to do more with mere gestures than most actresses or actors for that matter can with pages of script.
Finding Neverland is a really great, powerful family film that discusses the life of J.M Barrie and his inspiration for Peter Pan. I never thought much of this film in the past despite positive reviews and Academy recognition.
He becomes great friends with this family and little did he know how this changed his life for the better and created a story so magical, that many children around the world cherish the beloved Peter Pan.Johnny Depp is really good in the film.
And I can't help but think that such an lovingly crafted film as Finding Neverland - one with wit, wonder, and a sense of magic - is better left ambiguous.Johnny Depp plays Barrie, the playwright best known for writing Peter Pan, as a true gentleman.
It's pleasant to see a movie so lost in the clouds firmly rooted in reality, for in our own lives, is there anyone truly despicable, who's motives can be written off as "simply hates the world"?Finding Neverland's beating heart is Depp's relationships with Winslet and her most troubled and volatile son, Peter, played by Freddie Highmore.
Growing up has never been better portrayed - by all of the characters!In a time when too often films that address magic and imagination rely on computer effects to create creatures that are comic book absurd, FINDING NEVERLAND relies on simply showing the stage mechanics of the play, suspending wires and all, even in the climax of the story when Barrie brings his successful play to the living room of the ill Sylvia in order to keep his promise to her to take her to Neverland.
Growing up has never been better portrayed - by all of the characters!In a time when too often films that address magic and imagination rely on computer effects to create creatures that are comic book absurd, FINDING NEVERLAND relies on simply showing the stage mechanics of the play, suspending wires and all, even in the climax of the story when Barrie brings his successful play to the living room of the ill Sylvia in order to keep his promise to her to take her to Neverland.
While watching this movie,I was sent back to that time when I was little and my mom used to read me awesome stories.It's not just a movie,Its a gem,brilliantly carved by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet and her Children.One of the most extra-ordinary cinematography and Direction I have ever seen.Marc Foster is sure one of the names to watch out for in future.As far as the acting goes,Johnny Depp has proved time and again that why he is one of the best actors in Hollywood.His addiction for his characters and his Imagination will definitely take you with them too.Kate Winslet was as usual at her best.She enjoys portraying characters that are so strong in emotions.You will feel her every tear.Do not miss this movie if you want to feel what Magic is.This movie is like a peck of your mother,the most awesome feeling that u will ever have.
The way he creates imagination in all the children, especially Peter, is amazing, not to include the incredible "discussions" he has with Julie Christie, his wife and the one and only Kate Winslet.I don't think i have ever cried more in a movie.
The ending is as good and dramatic as it can be, and just the story is WOW!I've never been much of a fan of Peter Pan, so when i went to see it without having much of an idea of what it was gonna be, i didn't have many expectations, but now it's one of my favorite movies in the whole world.I really recommend it to everyone who wants to feel..
this is the word i can say for him .Everything is so perfect with this movie the length , the story , Direction , performances, Screenplay ,and the name FINDING NEVERLAND (Well chosen) , Kudos to Marc Forster , jhonny depp ,and Kate Winslet .Love you all !!.
He inspires J.M. Barrie to write Peter Pan. This movie would be a failure if it wasn't for the wonderful performance by Freddie Highmore.
Forster creates a fantastic fairy tale dream of one man's loneliness being cured by a wonderful family, who are full of their own flaws.The story centers around playwright J.M. Barrie, played by Johnny Depp in the most perfect decision of his career, who is suffering a terrible case of mediocrity in his writing abilities.
Of course, since the film is perfectly magical, even as she passes on it's the beautiful imaginative hearts of Barrie and her four boys that help Sylvia leave this world in a complete state of happiness.
But it's the magic of these characters and this story that carry the picture on and keep joyous spirit alive.Another interesting subplot to the film is the relationship between James and one of the Davies boys in particular, this boy being Peter (the inspiration for Barrie's title character Peter Pan, played by relative newcomer Freddie Highmore).
Johnny Depp wonderfully portrays the writer Sir James Matthew Barrie, more commonly known amongst children as the creator of Peter Pan and Neverland.
From then on, the film soars like a kite into an enchanted land.What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that the story takes a sadder turn when dealing with Barrie's relationship with the widowed mother of the four boys (who, by the way, are wonderfully played by the most natural and appealing youngsters I've ever seen on film!) But the balance between laughter and tears is a nice one, finely controlled, so that at the conclusion you've been rewarded with a really satisfying piece of entertainment and a new perspective on "Peter Pan".The performances are all first rate, exceptional in fact.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs Set in 1903 England,this charts the tale of writer JM Barrie (Johnny Depp) who is suffering a set-back in the shape of some plays opening to some particularly lousy reviews.Then he forms a relationship with the recently widowed Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her boys.This film charts how Barrie's relationship with the woman and her boys came to cause some consternation and concern among the people of that era,the deterioration of his own marriage and how their relationship blossomed to such a degree it inspired him to write arguably the most endearing children's tale of our time,Peter Pan.This can best be described as another fine Oscar contender.It is by turns endearing and amusing,with fine performances all round.Depp puts in another fine turn and displays some fine versatility as an actor,not to mention delivering a fine Edinburgh accent.The supporting cast,in the shape of Winslet,Dustin Hoffman,the boys and the rest,roll proceedings along splendidly too.The film truly feels alive with the sense of wonder and imagination that inhabited Barrie's heart and mind.The script also delivers on this front,capturing the heart-and-soul of the film as well as the actual story-telling.If the film has any faults,it's that it's too short.All these positive qualities I've mentioned aren't given perhaps as much room to breathe as to really make them take off and fly.But on the whole,it's a thoroughly worthwhile adventure that deserved to win whatever Oscars it did.****.
Johnny Depp is wonderful as usual and I find that I'm liking Kate Winslet more in every movie I see her in.
Johnny Depp is outstanding as is Kate Winslet and Julie Cristie.Barrie is a much more complex character than one would guess from his famous play or the book about Peter Pan. He was truly the boy who never grew up.
I am a fond reader of the wonderful story of Peter Pan and I truly adore the movies that express the imagination of the marvellous writer J.M Barrie.When I found out they was making this film, I knew instantly I had to see it.
Fellow Movie Afficionados, I walked into the movie theatre: 1) to see two of the best actors of my generation (Depp & Winslet), 2) not having any background on JM Barrie, 3) not really even knowing the story of Peter Pan, and 4) not really "believing in Neverland." This protocol (seeking out films with good acting regardless of the storyline) has served me well in the past; I'm sure I am not alone in saying that there are occasions in which I am driven by a film to read the book or more upon which it is based.
Kate Winslet is wonderful as Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies, the widowed mother of 4 boys and head of the family who inspire Barrie to write Peter Pan. Julie Christie is great as the grandmother you love to hate--fearful for her daughter's reputation, but also "protecting what she has" as she puts it during a strong talk with Barrie.The 4 young men who play the Davies brothers are especially impressive.
I have never been a fan of Johnny Depp, but he plays JM Barrie beautifully in this charming adaptation about the writing of Peter Pan. This film shows how the book and play were created and the inspiration behind the characters.
It moves back and forth between real life and a fantasy world, illustrating the link between inspiration and imagination in the creation of the beloved play Peter Pan. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet give strong performances with genuine emotion, yet the most outstanding performance of the movie belongs to Freddie Highmore (Peter).