Finding Neverland

Finding Neverland is a perfect example of a film that I watch and then ask myself, "Why didn't I watch this sooner?" I had heard all sorts of things about it when it was in theaters, and it was nominated for many awards including Best Picture and Best Actor. Yet for some reason, I never watched it. Never until this weekend, that is.

For those unfamiliar with the movie, it stars Johnny Depp as James Barrie, the playwright who wrote Peter Pan and Kate Winslett as Sylvia, the matriarch of the family that inspires him to write the play. Historical inaccuracies aside, the plot itself is simple. A man needs a reason to write. Children and their mother need a friend. They each find what they are looking for. Fortunately, the final work is so much more than this simplistic summation.

The film explores the depth of friendship, the creative process and imagination with a grace that is rarely matched in recent cinema. All of the acting performances are superb, including that of Freddie Highmore, who would go on to play the title role in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (he was Charlie, not the factory) at Depp's insistence. It may have taken me a while to see it, but in the end it ranks as one of my favorite films released in 2004: In company with Sideways, Spiderman 2, Maria Full of Grace, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and the Incredibles.

If you have been waiting, like I was, to see this I highly recommend that you stop waiting and watch it. You won't be sorry.

Until later...