Wendy (film)
Wendy is a 2020 American fantasy drama film directed by Benh Zeitlin, from a screenplay by Zeitlin and Eliza Zeitlin. The film stars Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, Ahmad Cage, Krzysztof Meyn, and Romyri Ross. It is intended to be a re-imagining of J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan". "Wendy" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020 and was released on February 28, 2020 by Searchlight Pictures. Plot. Wendy Darling lives in the rural South with her waitress mother Angela and twin brothers James and Douglas. One night , when the children request a bedtime story, Angela tells them about her life and how she was forced to give up on her dreams in order to raise a family. Wendy wonders whether the same thing will happen to her. The next night, as the train passes by their bedroom window, Wendy notices a boy riding on top of the train cars. The three children climb out of their window and join the boy, Peter, who takes them all to a tropical island with an active volcano, which Peter calls "Mother." The island is populated by other children, including their  long-lost brother Thomas, who has not aged. Peter explains that Mother's spirit resides in the volcano and prevents the children from aging, so long as they believe in her. They later discover a large glowing fish, which is Mother's other form. While exploring a capsized boat called the "Mañana", Douglas injures his head and disappears from sight. The children search for him without success. Missing his twin brother, James withdraws emotionally and his right hand begins to show signs of age. James becomes afraid and asks Peter to cut the hand off lest he become old. Shocked  and disgusted, Wendy pulls James away from the group and they explore the back of the island. They encounter a settlement of "Olds," children who lost faith in Mother and thus began to age normally. James, bitter at having to grow up without Douglas, rallies the group to kill and eat Mother's fish form in order to regain their youth. The Olds kidnap the children to use as bait for Mother and repurpose the "Mañana" as a fishing boat. While evading the Olds, Wendy and Peter find Douglas alive. They swim to the "Mañana", where they find the now  elderly James, with a hook in place of his missing right hand. As Peter and Wendy rescue the children, James kills Mother with a harpoon. With Peter and the children mournful and the Olds disheartened, Wendy gets them to all start singing, which inspires Peter and revitalizes the volcano. Wendy and Douglas decide it is time for them to go home. Knowing that he cannot go home, James stays to play with Peter as his new “enemy” Captain Hook, thereby allowing him to live out the rest of his days with the spirit of a child. Production. In August  2015, it was announced Benh Zeitlin would write and direct the film. Production began in March 2017, with filming taking place in Montserrat. Release. In April 2018, Searchlight Pictures acquired North American distribution rights to the film. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020. It was released on February 28, 2020. Reception. Critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, ""Wendy" dares to do something different with its classic source material; unfortunately, the movie's  breathtaking visuals are at odds with a flawed take on the story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."