Review of Finding Neverland (2004) by Danny S — 08 Mar 2011
"Finding Neverland" 10 Scale Rating: 6.0 (Decent) ...
Solid movie, but hardly Oscar worthy. I might be being harsh due to historical inaccuracies though ...
"Finding Neverland" follows playwright J.M. Barrie (Depp) and his relationship with the the Davies family, who inspired the play Peter Pan. After writing a critical failure, Barrie finds inspiration while helping a widow and her four sons. The relationship causes problems with his marriage and is heavily criticized by outsiders.
To be honest, Depp can be pretty average when not playing a zany character of some sort and he didn't really shine in this one. He was adequate, but more is expected of someone with his star power.
In most movies inspired by true events, the writer and director will take liberties to make a movie more interesting. In this case, they remove some pretty important information. For example, the patriarch of the Davies family was very much alive when Barrie met them and didn't pass away until six years into his relationship with them. In the movie he has been dead for years. This is the sort of glaring inaccuracy that puts me off.
Otherwise, the movie was solid and interesting. Barrie's relationship with the boys and Sylvia Davies was well done.
This review of Finding Neverland (2004) was written by Danny S on 08 Mar 2011.
Finding Neverland has generally received very positive reviews.
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