Finding Neverlandreviewed by Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
The picture is a romanticized telling of Sir James M. Barrie and his muse of inspiration to write his
stageplay for "Peter Pan." After having a major theatrical flop at the turn of the 1900s, Barrie is looking
to recoup with a new play. As he is writing in his journal, in London's Kensington Park, he runs into
Michael Llewellyn Davies and his three brothers, including Peter Llewellyn Davies.
Peter was the namesake for Barrie's "Peter Pan" character, but as the forward in his stageplay
scribes, all the boys inspired the character.
Barrie becomes very close friends with Sylvia Llewellyn Davies, a widow who lost her husband
to cancer of the jaw. Peter is not taking the death of his father well at the start of the
picture. Basically, the kid is an emotional wreck, and Barrie spends much of his time trying to
convince Peter to revel in his imagination and not grow up to quick.
Conflict comes as London socialites begin to talk about Barrie, who was married at the time to a former
actress named Mary Ansell, having an affair with the Llewellyn Davies mother OR having a sexual relationship
with the four boys. Sylvia's mother also did not like the boys having a playmate who was over 40 years old.
The picture, led by German director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball), presented a story of a man who "loved"
being a child, desired to remain a child and found this happiness in his relationship to the Llewellyn Davies
boys. The movie is also about how a man can have a completely innocent relationship with a few small boys,
and have completely innocent intentions with them. I'm sure Michael Jackson is thrilled.
Forster's manner of showing Barrie's imagination bleeding over into the lives of the suffering children was
masterful, without being overplayed until the final minutes of the picture.
Johnny Depp (From Hell) plays Barrie with a solid delivery, but nothing I haven't already seen him do in
pictures like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" I do not feel this film is a benchmark for his career, but
simply a notch in his home run career category.
Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) had a subtle openness to her character, which I imagined the
real Sylvia Llewellyn Davies must have had as well. How could a women in the early years of 1900s NOT have an
open mind when allowing a 40 year old man to become THAT close to her boys? This would never happen today.
Freddie Highmore (Two Brothers) did impressively well as the severely screwed up Peter. Highmore will be seen again
with Depp as the title character in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
WARNING: Certain plot points for this movie are spoiled in this review. Don't read on if you intend to see
the picture. Read the rest of this review after you see it.
The picture's heart is huge and thumps big. However, the final 5-10 minutes I felt could have been merged
into other scenes. As it stands, I get the feeling Forster was using it to keep the audience crying for a
bit longer. With the audience I saw this film with, people were already crying when Sylvia walks into Neverland. The
credits could have rolled at that point, and the picture would have been perfect.
Instead, we are given this post-funeral scene where we find out Barrie is named the legal guardian over the
Llewellyn Davies boys. I do not believe Sylvia would have left this in her will without asking Barrie if
he would accept the responsibility first. After that, we are subjected to watching a 6 year old boy (Peter)
cry for his late mother, while Depp gives him some romanticized dialogue about hope and believing in something. By
that point in the film, the audience already has this message handed to them, so the entire sequence was
essentially not needed.
My only other problem with the picture was the inaccuracy of J.M. Barrie's life regarding the Llewellyn Davies
family. Because of these false facts, the picture is revealed to truly be about his relationship with the
boys. His relationship with the boys became the only factual aspects of the film.
Here are some facts from Barrie's story, turned into major inaccuracies in the film...
By reputation, Peter Llewellyn Davies was very cynical and unappreciative of the public attention
"Peter Pan" brought to him and his brothers. This is especially after Barrie continued to author works using the same character,
including a novel version titled "Peter and Wendy" and a couple children's books. In fact, Peter once described
"Peter Pan" with disdain as "that unfortunate masterpiece."
Barrie pretty much fell apart both professionally and emotionally after George, the oldest boy, was killed fighting
in the First World War in 1915 AND Michael, second to youngest, drowned in a pool with a friend while an undergrad at
Oxford in 1921. Barrie died 16 years later. In 1960, Peter committed suicide by throwing himself under a subway
train in London. He was an esteemed publisher at the time.
All of this material, I thought, would make an excellent biopic. However, that's not what "Finding Neverland"
was. It's not a biopic, but a story exactly described by its title. It's a story about finding what Neverland
represents and believing you can reach it with your imagination. With that in mind, the film is masterful.
If you know about a lot about Scottish author Sir James M. Barrie, then you may actually dislike this picture. However,
if you know a little to next-to-nothing about the man, you may feel this is the best movie released this year. With
exception to the final scene, it's a real weeper.
Benn - Where's the Humanity?
"Finding Neverland" is probably the best made movie I've seen this year. However, the material, inspired
by true events as its main titles promote, is sadly inaccurate for fans of J.M. Barrie, the man who
authored the classic character of children's literature and stage "Peter Pan."
I personally feel Barrie's story would have been more interesting and complex if the film continued into years after
Sylvia's death. Peter became an absolute wreck, as one could imagine, and gave Barrie much strife throughout their
life together.