 "Photo: courtesy photo")
 "Photo: courtsey photo")
Several versions of Peter Pan have been made since it was originally written. Countless theater productions, several movie remakes - including Hook (1991) and the more recent Peter Pan (2003) have recounted the tales of Wendy, Michael, John and of course, Peter.
Finding Neverland is a new take on this well-loved story. It's based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan. The fact that it was inspired by true events helps make it even more magical and the thought of Never Never Land having elements of reality is sublime.
James Berrie (Johnny Depp) is a struggling playwright plagued by a failing marriage to his wife Mary (Radha Mitchell). He puts every ounce of creativity into each narrative he writes, but they all fail miserably once on the stage. He has considerable pressure to pen something worth his audiences' time and money.
Berrie often seeks inspiration in the park near his home. One day while scribbling away in his journal, he meets a young family with four boys and a single mother, Silvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet). They all become fast friends and spend countless hours pretending to be pirates and Indians, or just flying kites and playing around.
Because of Berrie's intense imagination, he slowly weaves all of the games he and the boys play into the story in which none of his young friends ever have to grow up. In his play Peter Pan, Neverland is a place of escape and a wonderful fantasy world.
Finding Neverland really gives precedence to the power of pretending. Each character in the story has some difficult element in their life that they cope with by pretending. The movie shows the audience it too has the ability to forget by pretending. Pretending does not change reality, but it can help to make things a little easier.
Of course, Johnny Depp pulls off an amazing performance. Many argue the actor is incapable of doing a bad job in any of the movies he appears in. Perhaps, he has a script-choosing gift that exceeds anyone else's in Hollywood.
Freddie Highmore plays Peter Llewelyn Davies, and greatly inspires Berrie's story of Peter Pan. He is an exceptional actor at only 12 years old. Do not be surprised if you find yourself wishing you could play a game of pirates and Indians with him at the end of the film - he has that rare appeal about him that so few child actors possess. Also, keep your eyes on him for next year's remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (also starring Depp).
Finding Neverland proves itself to be of the same caliber as the former Peter Pan films. It is definitely not a tired re-telling of the story we have heard so many times. This movie has the power to make you wonder if there might really be a place called Neverland that can be traversed with the help of some pixie dust and a short flight to the second star to the left, then straight on 'til morning.
Finding Neverland opens in theaters tomorrow.
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