J. M. Barrie’s play and subsequent novel, “Peter Pan” is a classic that draws a bridge between childhood and adulthood.
In “Finding Neverland,” the construction of that bridge is put onto the big screen, but somehow the river of time, which it arches over, is nearly dried up.
The film finally comes to life in the third act when Barrie’s now familiar tale goes into rehearsal. It’s not enough to justify the first two acts of exposition that proceed it.
Stuffy English society is the obstacle which must be surmounted, but the climb is tedious and far too precious. Maybe it was a different world back then. Still, does it make for enjoyable viewing or was the whole thing just directed badly?
I put forth the latter. First off, Johnny Depp, although a wonderful and talented actor, is horribly miscast here. He talks in a thick accent and looks about as turn-of-the-century English as a runway model. His antics with the children feels like horseplay caught between takes.
The script is fairly linear and I think a little reshuffling of the play and its back story could have made life in Dullsville a little more palatable.
Dustin Hoffman plays the theatre owner to which Depp is indebted for producing his increasingly lame productions. The film opens with a bored audience. It’s basically art imitating life.
And could someone please ask Dustin why he speaks like a New Yorker? I can only draw the conclusion that his character was American. Some bio-pics benefit from a little tweaking of the truth. Even though this story omitted some key situations concerning Barrie’s life, a more fanciful hand could have made the characters in this dirge-athon come to life instead of succumb to it.
Julie Christie shows up as the intolerant grandmother of the Lost Boys. Her hateful meddling is annoying more than anything. At one point, Barrie sees her behavior and imagines her morphing into Captain Hook. The scene is reminiscent of “Amadeus” when Tom Hulce draws inspiration for “The Magic Flute” from his shrill mother-in-law. The difference is that “Amadeus” swirls around you like the great music Mozart composed. “Finding Neverland” just kind of sits in you lap like cold tea and crumpets.
I admit, I got a little choked up at the end, when Tinker Bell is dying. We see that it is a sad parallel to Kate Winslet’s quickly approaching demise.
Maybe I’m just a heartless snob, but it is Barrie’s play that makes me all verklempt, not Winslet’s withering mum.
