Never-Ending Joy

Few modern films possess the perfectly balanced solution of magic and sentiment so abundant in Marc Forster’s “Finding Neverland. بلاك جاك ” Based Allan Knee’s play, “The Man Who Was Peter,” which itself is loosely based on J.M. Barrie’s friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family; the film follows the Scottish playwright through his completion of his iconic “Peter Pan” until the historically-rooted resolution of their unique situation.

Throughout the film, Barrie, an author desperately trying to recover for a recent flop, is played enchantingly by Johnny Depp, who is continually thrown into a world of its own volition, as though its very atoms possess him in a childish daydream. We see Neverland unfold before us, complete with mermaids and pirates. Even his dog, Porthos, becomes a dancing bear in the whimsical world of Barrie’s fancy.

Alternatively, the Llewelyn Davies boys, who, in reality, inspired the events and characters of “Peter Pan,” meet Barrie one afternoon in the park with their mother, played admirably by Kate Winslet. They’ve recently lost their father and Peter (Freddie Highmore, “August Rush”), especially, is having difficulty coping with the loss.

Mrs. Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, herself, hides a shattering truth regarding her health.

On the home front, the incredibly beautiful Mrs. Mary Barrie (Radha Mitchell, “Phone Booth”) misses her husband. ربح مجاني Their relationship is strained and while it is portrayed as partially her fault, one cannot help but assume the youthful nature of the playwright’s heart left little room for conventional romance. While building every possible trap for character failure as a shrewish wife, she gracefully avoids each one.

Like many humans, Mrs. Barrie is hardly evil. She simply isn’t the one – she does not possess a child-like innocence and imagination, or perhaps Mr. Barrie never invited her on a journey. مراهنات

Her portrayal is at once dignified, tragically desperate and at times benevolently kind, effectively leaving the audience with a positive view of the mysterious woman behind the sensational man.

Winslet’s performance as the highly sympathetic mother of the fearsome foursome lends the introduction of stark reality to a world seemingly ruled by fantasy. Sylvia is a kind, gentle adventurer at heart who simply wants the best for her four boys and the Academy Award-winner does a splendid job of portraying her giving spirit.

In contrast to Winslet’s sentimentality is Depp’s naive romanticism. His Barrie instills a sense of childlike wonder in his perpetual waking dreams of Native American war-chiefs and fairies. So innocent is his portrayal of the renowned man that the audience never once comes to question his sincerity – Uncle Jim just wants to help – he wants to be a child alongside his youthful companions.

And he does a fantastic Scottish brogue.

And yet, with all its tear-jerker moments and forays into fantasy, the film never suffers from over-extension. Instead, it straddles the two seemingly opposing worlds with a crane’s agility, only slightly caressing the boundaries. The tears do not seem cheap and the childlike awe is hardly contrived. Every chuckle, sigh and cry is entirely natural.

This could greatly be the result of the film’s utterly astounding, Oscar-winning score. Jan A.P. Kaczmarek’s stylistically complicated symphony breathes life into a fairy tale romance, though possesses its own exquisite charm. Written almost exclusively for the solo piano, it evokes a fabled calm.

By the end, few dry eyes will be privy to Forster’s quasi-historical epic. Instead, alight with a child-like wonder, they’ll be off exploring the recesses of their own Neverland.