"; if(is_file("header.php")) include "header.php"; else include "../header.php"; ?>

A charming film I can't say I know anything about the story of J.M Barrie and what led him to create the immortal classic story of "Peter Pan". I just went into the film just to be entertained. I wasn't really concerned with how much or little truth to the story is. I just really wanted to see if the praise over the film is worthy. Johnny Depp plays the struggling playwright James Barrie whose plays just never finds the right audience. His overactive imagination doesn't find an audience. Radha Mitchell (of "Pitch Black") plays his wife Mary. One day Johnny meets the widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four boys in the park. This quickly leads to a close friendship thanks to James' vivid imagination. Of course this does not sit well with Mary or Sylvia's mother Emma (Julie Christie) who wants Sylvia to remarry into high society. She also does not care for J.M Barrie. She feels that a man his age should not be playing with children, as does J.M's wife. The four boys are precocious as is James Barrie. The five have a rollicking good time together. In the beginning the second youngest son Peter is wary of James Barrie because he is still mourning over the loss of his father. With a little gentle prodding, James manages to get Peter to open up. I immensely enjoyed the film. It had that same whimsical feel that I would get from a Tim Burton movie (like 2003's "Big Fish"). While his British accent wasn't completely convincing to me, Johnny Depp still managed to put in a superb performance as James Barrie. His chemistry with the young lads were hilarious. I especially loved the scene when they were in the country pretending to be pirates. I loved the vivid scenes of the actors on the pirate ship but I especially loved the last ten-fifteen minutes of the film which involved a performance of "Peter Pan". I didn't think it was possible but Kate Winslet managed to put in an even a more incredible performance in this film after last year's wonderful "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Her final scenes in the film literally brought tears to my eyes. Julie Christie was brilliant as Sylvia's overbearing mother. The young lads in the film were a delight to watch, especially Freddie Highmore as Peter. I think we will be seeing more of Freddie in the near future after this film. Despite Johnny Depp's unconvincing Scottish accent, I pretty much found "Finding Neverland" flawless. I forgot the last time I became so emotional during a movie. The last fifteen minutes of the film was so heartbreaking I found myself all choked up. I was truly moved. "Finding Neverland" is a great film for people of all ages. It is certainly one of the best films from last year that I have seen. The bonus dvd features are excellent. I especially loved the outtakes which I found to be hilarious. The behind the scenes footage was equally wonderful. I especially enjoyed watching the actors discuss their roles in "The Magic of Finding Neverland". There are also a few deleted scenes included. I am rather glad that they were deleted from the film because I personally found those scenes pointless and not very interesting.