In all, there were six people in the theater (excluding an old chinese man who left halfway through the film) when I watched Finding Neverland just now, but then, the story of how British author and playwright, J.M Barrie, came to write his famous play, Peter Pan, would have little appeal if compared against the more flamboyant and mainstream offerings available at the cinemas (Elektra, Shall We Dance, et al) this festive season.
Despite garnering seven Academy Award nominations (a tie with Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby for the second most nominated movie at the Oscars this year after The Aviator), I doubt that Finding Neverland would be able to win anything in the really significant categories. Johnny Depp, ever the chameleon, is very convincing as the eccentric J.M Barrie but unfortunately, I think it's not exactly an Oscar-winning role. Kate Winslet, much like Depp himself, is always a joy to watch and she brought a lot of pathos to her character which was sadly, not developed to its full potential by the script-writers. However, it was actually child actor Freddie Highmore who was the scene-stealer in this film; in my honest opinion, his performance is every bit as nuanced and mature as that of his adult co-stars.
Truth be told, Finding Neverland is like an unpolished piece of work but there are several saving graces to this film, one of which is the strong ensemble acting ---- and Johnny Depp's performance. After seeing him in The Pirates of The Caribbean, I think Depp may have become an expert at playing quirky, yet fundamentally disparate, characters. Though probably not a very strong and impactful film, (unlike director Marc Forster's last piece of work, Monster's Ball, in 2001) it's such a relief that Finding Neverland manages to be sweetly poignant without ever turning into saccharine mush; these former type of movies are a little difficult to come by these days... my ratings ---- 3.8/5 stars~!!!
