Johnny Depp in
Finding Neverland

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Bottom line: Johnny Depp delivers winning star turn in a charming weepie about the man who created Peter Pan.
VENICE -- Johnny Depp adds to his growing rep as a wonderful screen actor with a guileless performance as playwright James Barrie, the man who created Peter Pan.

The film has one or two creaky moments when the depiction of what influenced the writer is a bit too literal. Nevertheless, "Finding Neverland" is a rewarding piece of filmmaking that has all the makings of a classic weepie with boxoffice returns to match.

In 1903, Barrie is an established playwright, willingly backed by producer Charles Frohman (Dustin Hoffman, having great fun) but losing his shirt over his latest play. "I feel I can do better," he admits. Barrie is Scottish, but there's nothing dour about him. Quite the opposite as he neglects his lovely wife, Mary (Radha Mitchell, making much of a difficult role), to take his Newfoundland dog Porthos to the park, where he plays with a ball attached to a fishing pole.

In the park one day, Barrie encounters a family of four boys and their widowed mother, Sylvia (played with unaffected charm by Kate Winslet). Immediately connecting with their games of fantasy, Barrie puts on a show for them by pretending that Porthos is a bear. "That's absurd. It's just a dog!" one boy says.

" 'Just!' " Barrie cries. "That is a terrible, candle-snuffing word." He proceeds to dance with his bear, and the scene turns into a circus ring with animals and clowns and mimes. The writer's childlike imagination connects with the fatherless boys. Soon he is spending most of his time with the family, playing their games and observing them, taking notes.

Conflict arises not only from Barrie's wife, who feels increasingly alienated and takes a lover, but also from Sylvia's stuck-up mother, a quite fearsome but still beautiful Julie Christie. People are talking, not only about Barrie spending too much time with a comely widow but also being a man in the company of four little boys.

But Barrie is as innocent as Peter Pan, although there's a story from his past that affects him profoundly. Much difficulty lies ahead as Sylvia develops what sounds like considerably more than a bad cough. As Barrie absorbs all the things that will allow him to create a piece of theatrical magic, David Magee's script touches on tiny moments that would become iconic in Barrie's masterwork, such as a tinkerbell and a ticking alarm clock. It has a sweetness that never cloys.

"Young boys should never go to bed," Barrie says. "They wake up a day older, and before you know it, they're grown."

"Peter Pan" was the first great children's entertainment. Director Marc Forster depicts its creation with tremendous affection and eye for detail. His work with the boys, especially Freddie Highmore as Peter, is remarkable as they give Depp a run for his money onscreen. The American actor, with a superbly relaxed Scottish accent, is equal to it, however.

My poster(unofficial)

Photos from the Miramax Trailer
found HERE

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