"Finding Neverland" finds my heart...

One of the exciting things about being a parent of young children is that you never get to see movies in the theatre anymore. I used to see two movies a week, now we're down to two per year. That means sometimes, maybe once per month, my wife and I will get to sit down and watch a movie together on DVD that we originally wanted to see in theatres. The most recent movie was last night, 2004's "Finding Neverland."

We'd heard all the buzz about it last fall and winter, but never had the time to go and see it. As a fan of the Peter Pan story, and curious about the life of author James M. Barrie, I wanted to see it from the get-go. My wife probably just wanted to see it for Johnny Depp--but that's reason enough.

"Finding Neverland" tells the story of James Barrie and his relationship with a widow raising four young sons. Over the course of a summer, he befriends the boys and finds in them inspiration to write his most famous work, Peter Pan.

I saw a similar movie several years ago called "Dreamchild," about Lewis Carroll's inspiration to write "Alice in Wonderland," but that strayed into some uncomfortable areas, stopping just short of pedophilia. I'm happy to say "Finding Neverland" does everything right. The relationship between Barrie and his wife, the complicated friendship with Mrs. Llewelyn-Davies, and especially the near-brotherhood Barrie finds with her four sons are all wonderfully portrayed.

Much of the credit for the film is due to the screenplay, adapted from Alan Knee's stage play. The situations and characters seem more real and alive than many other period pieces, but it's free from the winking anachronisms that mar other similar works. The acting is excellent, with Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, and Julie Christie all delivering fine, nuanced performances. I normally despise child actors, but the four Llewelyn-Davies boys do a fine job. The outstanding one of course was Freddie Highmore--outstanding enough that I was familiar with his name from reviews before I even saw the movie. His performance as Peter, the most sensitive and therefore troubled of the boys, was amazing. He's going to be Charlie Bucket in the upcoming "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie starring Johnny Depp, and I'm looking forward to seeing him there.

The movie has scenes that flit back and forth between imagination and reality, and the segues are very well realized; "Dreamchild" had similar scenes that were a bit darker. These scenes mostly have the boys and Barrie acting out situations that become the plot of "Peter Pan," and those familiar either with the Disney cartoon or the book will instantly recognize many of the plot points. This would be an excellent movie to watch with children who know the story, and you can help them understand the process of writing such an imaginative story.

There are some dark moments in the movie, and each of the characters suffers a loss in some way. We see that the fatherless boys need Barrie as much as he needs them, and there's never anything bizarre or lewd or questionable about the friendship.

It's a fine, complicated movie, and it made me cry at least once...but it's accessible and enjoyable too. My wife and I both loved it and were still talking about it this morning; if you haven't yet, it's time to find "Neverland."