Review of Finding Neverland (2004) by Bradysmith — 25 Dec 2013

Finding Neverland is too much too late. During the last hour or so it began to engage me, and by the end it was actually somewhat moving. That doesn't change the fact that the first 40 minutes were extremely boring.

And when I say extremely I mean horrendously. It just seemed so repetitive and pointless during that section. There wasn't any adult drama. Just Johnny Depp playing make believe with a couple of kids and their mom.

This could have worked if it wasn't done so blandly, and if it was rendered more convincingly. Yes it does eventually become involving. Its story takes some formulaic but effective turns, and the acting was solid, but it should have been good from the get go.

The production design and cinematography were pretty throughout but nothing groundbreaking. You may like the movie more than I did. I thought it was decent, but I'm not sure if it was worth enduring the first forty minutes.