Finding Neverland [PG]

James Barrie is a writer who seems unable to identify with his audience. But when he becomes close friends with Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies and her four boys George, Jack, Peter, and Michael, he soon discovers that it’s the audience that cannot identify with him. Whilst spending an unforgettable summer with the family, James writes an immortal play that will teach grownups to believe again. 

So here I am, tear-streaked, sniffling, and feverishly dabbing my eyes. This is such as beautiful movie! It’s just perfect. Inspired by true events, Finding Neverland is a visual masterpiece that tells the story behind the story of Peter Pan. 

James Barrie is a writer who seems unable to indentify with his audience. But when he becomes close friends with Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies and her four boys, George, Jack, Peter, and Michael, he soon discovers that it’s the audience that cannot indentify with him. Whilst spending an unforgettable summer with family, James writes an immortal play that will teach grownup to believe again. 

Everyone knows that legendary tale of the boy who never grew up, but what inspired the tale of Peter Pan? Finding Neverland is a visually stunning look at Barrie’s journey that led to the creation of a timeless classic… from his first inspiration to the play’s first premiere. Everything about this was film was perfect. There was drama, romance, fantasy, and comedy, all in healthy doses. The visual effects that show the fantasies and inspirations of James Barrie are simply superb, so much so that you dare not blink. 

Johnny Depp stars as James Barrie and he was just beautiful. His performance was so perfect that you could almost hear to the boy inside him crying for release. He really was a boy in a man’s clothes and he delivered a performance that was warm, charming, comedic, heartfelt, and wonderfully innocent. He was just beautiful. 

Although Johnny Depp was the real star of the film, the talents of the boys that played the Llewelyn-Davies brothers threatened his limelight. Each of them gave a stunning performance, but without a doubt it was Freddie Highmore, who plays Peter, who stole the show. Playing a boy who is trying to force himself to grow up is a terribly difficult challenge and Freddie delivered a performance of the likes of which I have never seen before or since. All tears shed in this film were caused by Freddie’s incredibly powerful performance. 

Starring Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell, Joe Prospero, Nick Roud, Luke Spill. Ina Hart, Kelly Macdonald, Mackenzie Crook, Eileen Essell, Toby Jones, Angus Barnett, and Dustin Hoffman, Finding Neverland is a truly beautiful film that’s filled with drama, romance, fantasy, and comedy. It’s a truly stunning piece of work!