Cast: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell and Dustin Hoffman
Director: Marc Forster
Studio Synopsis: A tale of magic and fantasy inspired by the life of James Barrie (Johnny Depp), the real-life author of the children's classic Peter Pan. Set in London in 1904, the film follows Barrie 's creative journey to bring Peter Pan to life, from his first inspiration for the story up until the play's premiere at the Duke of York's Theatre—a night that will change not only Barrie's own life, but the lives of everyone close to him.
DVD Rating: PG
DVD Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes with optional director commentary; outakes; feature commentary with filmmakers; Creating Neverland feature; and On the Red Carpet feature
Official Web site: http://www.miramax.com/findingneverland/
Trailer: http://www.miramax.com/findingneverland/

The Verdict : In the sweet and sincere Finding Neverland, Oscar nominee Johnny Depp portrays Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie as a writer willing to risk his career and reputation over his professional and personal pursuits. Barrie’s decision to pen a play about a boy who refuses to grow up gives his producer (Dustin Hoffman) cause for concern. And Victorian London’s snooty social bigwigs don’t know what to think about the married writer’s platonic relationship with widower Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her sons. Based on Allan Knee’s play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, Finding Neverland presents these children as Barrie’s primarily inspiration behind his celebrated tale of eternal youth. Neverland already existed in Barrie’s mind, the film puts forth, but it was his relationship with the boys that gave life to Peter Pan. Certain liberties have been taken with facts: Barrie knew Sylvia and her husband Arthur, but the fictionalized Finding Neverland ignores this in favor of a rather precious first encounter in a park between Barrie and the grieving Llewelyn Davies family. Regardless, director Marc Forster—whose commentary is quite amusing and enlightening— does a wonderful job establishing the tight bond between Barrie and these real-life Lost Boys, especially with Peter (a sensitive Freddie Highmore). He lost his imagination and all sense of adventure since his father’s death. Depp and Highmore’s moments together prove delightfully engaging and often playful, as Barrie tries to bring Peter out of his shell. Little wonder the two will reunite for this year’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Scrubbed clean after 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Depp genuinely seems to be having a good time working with the kids. It’s also the warmest and most humane we've seen Depp. He’s rambunctious without being hammy, affectionate and easy going with the kids without seeming patronizing or creepy. He even gets to play pirates again. Winslet, though, is blandly defined by her role as mother—a good one, but circumstances dictate she doesn’t get to join in much of the fun. Her first coughing fit is a strong indication of her eventual fate. Thankfully Forster handles Sylvia’s inevitable passing in an appropriately imaginative manner that’s neither disrespectful or manipulative. Nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Finding Neverland offers few surprises as it speculates on the origins of Peter Pan, but Forster more than makes amends by telling the story in a nimble and fanciful manner. Barrie is predictably depicted as more Pan than Pan, which manifests itself in gloriously executed flights of fantasy. Yet these strange but wonderful excursions from reality allow us to see the world as Barrie may have seen it. The brief but informative DVD feature Creating Neverland allows a glimpse at the special effects employed to help us see through Barrie's eyes. “Just believe,’ Depp later tells a greiving Peter. Finding Neverland begs us to do the same, and despite its blurring of fact and fiction, it makes believers of us all.
—Robert Sims