Finding Neverland

The secret life of J.M. Barrie

—Overview
—Review by Darrel Manson
—Review by Melinda Ledman
—Review by Michael Ray
—Review by Matt Hill
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

I've often wondered why many of the best films quality-wise are also some of the worst content-wise. The films of Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan blend brilliant cinematography and story structure with gratuitous language and violence.
Conversely, the films that boast wholesomeness and "good, clean, family fun" tend to be cliched, poorly-acted and melodramatic. Is it so wrong to ask for maturity without "mature themes" or intellectual stimulation without sexual stimulation? Imagine A Beautiful Mind without the intense sense of despair, or Shakespeare in Love without the sexually-charged relationship and you've got the overall feel of Finding Neverland.

The film follows real-life author J.M. Barrie in his struggle to create a play that both expresses his outlook on life and appeals to his patrons. His most recent play has bombed, making his career as a writer hardly a sure thing. However, when he befriends four boys and their mother, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, he is able to embrace the innocence and wonder of childhood, creating as a result his masterpiece, Peter Pan.

Not surprisingly, Johnny Depp pulls off his rendition of the Scottish-brogued Barrie without a hitch. He creates a character with grown-up wisdom and child-like bewilderment, without becoming too manic or juvenile. His everyday world is mundane, marked by a cynical boss and a status-seeking wife. Whenever around the Llewelyn Davies children, though, he enters a world with which he is more comfortable–a world where dancing bears and pirate ships are commonplace–a world where he, like Peter Pan, never has to grow up.

The child actors are naturals, delivering lines with introspective solemnity. Freddie Highmore, playing Peter Llewelyn Davies, is especially talented as the brooding child afraid of his own imagination who ultimately inspires the concept of Peter Pan.

One thing that makes Finding Neverland an enjoyable film is the use of everyday inspirations for the characters in Barrie's play. I'm sure it was tempting for the screenwriter to have Barrie jot down notes whenever inspired by real events, making sure all the moviegoers knew specifically what elements were drawn from reality. Screenwriter David Magee instead sprinkles allusions to the play throughout the film, allowing the viewers to either discover these little gems for themselves or to miss them completely, either way remaining able to enjoy the overall story.

Content-wise, the PG-rated film is wholesome enough for any child, yet it includes such profound treatment of the themes of imagination, mortality and endurance that most kids wouldn't grasp half of its beauty. Neverland is revealed as a place Barrie invented as a child to help him cope with his brother's death. The clock-swallowing crocodile becomes a metaphor for time itself. Peter, inspired by Barrie, uses creative writing as a tool for emotional healing.
Finding Neverland's ability to weave symbolism and psychology into an intriguing story brings to the audience a sense of genuineness and substantial hope. This multi-leveled means of storytelling makes Barrie's escapes from reality vivid, while his returns to the crumbling world around him remain heartbreaking. Rather than dwelling on that heartbreak, however, the film continually stresses the power of hope and endurance, regardless of circumstances.
Though Finding Neverland focuses on the means of hope (creative expression) rather than the source of that hope (an ever-faithful God), its overall spirituality allows for a Christian interpretation of emotional healing. Key to the characters' healing process is an untimely death that brings reconciliation and unity to those left behind (If you don't realize the significance of that, check out the prophets of the Old Testament or the gospels of the New Testament).

Finding Neverland may not appeal to children as it would to adults. For a film that pleases both crowds, look no further than The Incredibles, which lives up to its name by superbly blending exceptional storytelling, visuals, soundtrack and pop-culture references. For an honest look at emotional pain and the healing of that pain, though, Finding Neverland is the way to go. While the film may alienate the casual viewer, it provides a wonderful example of wholesome excellence–a concept that once seemed as distant and as inaccessible as Neverland itself.

—Overview
—Review by Darrel Manson
—Review by Melinda Ledman
—Review by Michael Ray
—Review by Matt Hill
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections