Finding Neverland

Review by Clint Morris

We've all seen and heard the story of Peter Pan so many times, that once more and we'd be enquiring about ear and eye amputation.

Thankfully then, Marc Forster's Finding Neverland doesn't concentrate so much on the green guy in tights, as it does the guy who sewed the threads together: author, creator, visionary, J.M Barrie.

Compelling and even slightly touching, the film version of Allan Knee's stage play "The Man who was Peter Pan" revels in its sophisticated style, stupendous performances and causal, self-assuring messages of hope and faith.

But like a delicious looking ice-cream that's missing the advertised chewy caramel centre, Forster's film never tries to be anything other than a "good film".

Scottish playwright J.M Barrie (Johnny Depp) meets the Llewelyn Davies family: four fatherless boys and their attractive mother (Kate Winslet).

Almost immediately, Barrie befriends the family, spending more time with them than he does with his own wife (Radha Mitchell). But in doing so, ends up coming up with the idea for the play that would make him Peter Pan.

Without robbing one of the experience of watching the film for themselves, Finding Neverland takes a few details from the author's life and blends them with mere fabrication. There is truth to this story, but for the most part, it's fluffed - all for your viewing pleasure.

It knows which buttons to press, knows when to trigger the cannon, and plays an audience like it was dangling from the bottom of a string. But what it doesn't do is step beyond that 'safe', 'its good, but I've seen it all before' stencil.

Where's the chemistry between our leads? Where's the subplot about Barrie's rep as a presumed paedophile? (It's a claim that's followed him for centuries after all), actually, where's the risk at all? For the film to have been truly great, Tinkerbell needed to sprinkle it with a little bit more fact and a little less fiction.

On the other end of the scales though, there's enough to recommend about the film. Depp's performance, for one, is a marvel. Again proving just how versatile he is playing not only real life chaps, but those with a different accent, he makes the role of Barrie his own. Without him, it's hard to imagine the film would've been as engaging.

As to the co-stars, whilst Winslet is typically syrupy and sufficient, young Freddie Highmore is the standout, giving a far-reaching, convincing performance as a boy who's having trouble dealing with grief.

Considering the calibre of the people involved, Finding Neverland should've been a much, much, better movie, but it's still quite good, and will spark interest in the subject of Barrie.

3 out of 5

Finding Neverland
Australian release: Saturday January 1st
Cast: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Nick Roud, Radha Mitchell, Joe Prospero, Freddie Highmore, Dustin Hoffman, Luke Spill, Kelly Macdonald.
Director: Marc Forster.
Website: Click here.

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