Finding Neverland

[El Duderino]

Release Date
TBA 2004

Director
Marc Forster (Monster's Ball)

Screenwriter
David Magee (Debut)

Cast
Johnny Depp
Dustin Hoffman
Kate Winslet
Julie Christie
Radha Mitchell
Vanessa Redgrave
Kate Maberly
Kelly Macdonald
Paul Whitehorse

Synopsis
J.M. Barrie's Neverland is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, which focuses on how Pan's author J.M. Barrie was inspired to write his story after bonding with four fatherless children who lived next door to him in 1800's London.

"The tragedy of childhood is that it ends all too quickly," James Matthew Barrie says in The Man Who Was Peter Pan. The four young Davies brothers become an important element in his life. "Barrie feels a connection to George, Peter, Jack, and Michael that he doesn't have with other people - he revels in their rambunctiousness, encourages their creative impulses, and, unknowingly, lives vicariously through them. He becomes a kind of surrogate father to them, and develops a warm friendship with their mother, Sylvia."


Trailer Here

[Ghostboy]

Well what do you know! Another potentially really good movie, held on the shelf by Weinstein for over a year, probably chopped to hell, and now promoted with a trailer specifically designed to make people think its directed by Lasse Halstrom.

[MacGuffin]

Is the title of this thread incorrect?

[Ghostboy]

No, they re-titled it from the much better 'Neverland' (I recall reading a legal reason, though).

[Redlum]

Well what do you know! Another potentially really good movie, held on the shelf by Weinstein for over a year, probably chopped to hell, and now promoted with a trailer specifically designed to make people think its directed by Lasse Halstrom.

Really? Is that just speculation on the 'cut to hell'?

[Ghostboy]

I saw this tonight and it seriously does feel like something Lasse Halstrom made for Miramax's Oscar campaign. It's not bad -- for the most part, it's very good, but it's also very calculated. I'm a big fan of Marc Forster's films, particularly Everything Put Together, but there were only little things here and there that distinguished this as a piece of his work. And the score -- Jesus, this probably could have been a much stronger film if the overly competent score hadn't telegraphed every single beat five minutes before it happened.

Johnny Depp is fantastic though --  if it weren't for him, I don't think I would have enjoyed the film much. He really brings it to life.Kate Winslet does her best with what's mostly a thankless role. The children are uniformly excellent, particularly the young lad who's since been given the lead in Charlie In The Choclolate Factory.

There are some nice fantasy sequences, and I teared up a few times. There's a recreation of the "I don't believe in fairies" sequence from Peter Pan, and that really got me. That scene hits me hard in whatever it's in, from this to ET to last year's Peter Pan, where I practically burst into tears.

Marc Forster was at the screening. He seems like a very nice fellow. He talked about, among other things, how he got someone in Switzerland to pay for his tutelage at NYU. I wish I lived in Switzerland now.

[Sal]

I'm looking forward to the fantasy sequences.  This was titled J.M. Barrie's Neverland, wasn't it?  I was dissapointed to find it retitled as "Finding Neverland."  I mean, its ok, but its really generic.

[Pubrick]

This was titled J.M. Barrie's Neverland, wasn't it?  I was dissapointed to find it retitled as "Finding Neverland."  I mean, its ok, but its really generic.

from horrible to less horrible? i think that's an improvement.

[Finn]

Well I saw this last night at an early screening. I have to say it was pretty good overall. I wasn't blown away by it and I wouldn't compare it to "Peter Pan" from 2003. But it had some good performances and some interesting detail about how J.M. Barrie came up with the ideas for writing the story.

[MacGuffin]

[Pedro]

hahahahaahaha
we're all gonna be pissed now

[modage]

saw this yesterday.  agree with everything ghostboy said, except marc forster wasnt at my screening.  it was well done, but just not something i could be excited about.  i had re-visited the excellent Peter Pan the night before so this was a little dull by comparison.  i too am just a little suspicous of films that seem to be made for awards season, like the perfect cast/director etc.   also funny that the poster makes it look so happy and feel-good when its actually a bit of a downer tearduct endurance test film.

[Kal]

I just saw this and loved it... the movie itself is not so great... but some of the scenes and dialogues, and Johnny Depp made it for me...

I had a great time... and they didnt make it long or anything... if they were looking for an Oscar-whetever release I believe it worked for them!

[Ravi]

I agree with the comments here.  It was an appealing film that was often almost tear-inducing, but it wasn't mindblowing.  Depp, Winslet, and the kid who played Peter gave very good performances.  I never thought "Oscar material" while watching it, though.

[Bethie]

There are some nice fantasy sequences, and I teared up a few times.

Yeah, I was near tears at least three separate times during the film and some water did end up coming out of my eyes at the end. The last film that affected me that way was Big Fish.


I saw this film a few weeks ago. I thought it was wonderful, and derserves to be more than one page in Now Showing.