Finding Neverland

[tcarroll]

I have read many comments on the website regarding the movie Finding Neverland some good, some bad, but I have a comment of my own.  I have watched FN several times as well as The Lost Boys, and love both of them.  Even though TLB is much, much more historically accurate, FN was the first thing that got me interested in this wonderful story.  Of the two, TLB is by far my favorite, I have been guilty of watching it over and over, but I must say, you can never go wrong by having Johnny Depp in anything, and I thought he portrayed Mr. Barrie with more sensitivity and elegance than anyone else could have. Freddie Highmore as Peter was more than excellent. Accurate or not, I loved it and I thought it brought a great deal of attention to Mr. Barrie and the Davies as well as Peter Pan. 

[Lesley]

I thought as well, that FN is a very good movie, by itself. Not very accurate and I don't like the fact that they left out Nico in the plot, but all in all I think it is a very beautiful film.
I just look at them very differently: TLB is an almost exact biographic film (brilliant of course!!) and FN is simply entertainment for me. I think they did some very beautiful shots and everything, so I just watch it as I would watch a fiction movie. And I think JD is a very talented actor, though very unlike to Barrie in figure and also in his performance. (as far as I can say...), but brilliant, nevertheless.
Lesley

[tcarroll]

I thought the scenes in which Freddie Highmore portrayed Peter as a very sensitive young man were exceptional.  He is such a good actor to be so young. And Johnny Depp, ( a true ladies man) as Mr. Barrie was magic.  I think Mr. Barrie would be very pleased to know such a handsome actor was chosen.

[Lesley]

Yes Freddie Highmore is a wonderful actor! I always have to cry in the end, when he cries. He's just marvellous!
Lesley

[tcarroll]

I'm glad you share my love for this movie Lesley.  Another scene that is wonderful is after Peter finds out Sylvia might be really sick, and he is upset and lashing out at Barrie.  I've never seen a young actor with that kind of passion.  And at the end, after he cries and he and Barrie disappear...pure movie magic!!  I know it isn't historically accurate, but I still feel it brought a great deal of attention to Mr. Barrie and the Davies family. The movie was nominated for several Academy Awards if I remember correctly, including Johnny Depp for his portrayal of Mr. Barrie. 

[sunset]

I love this film aswell. The part where Sylvia walks into Neverland was beautiful, and one of my favorite parts.

[TheWendybird]

Yes it was really good especially imagery wise. Freddie I think is voicing Astro Boy in a new movie...not sure if any of you know who Astro Boy is but I sure as heck loved him when I was little so woot!

[Lesley]

yes the part were Sylvia walks into Neverland is wonderful! and so cheesy I love it.
Lesley

[tcarroll]

The music on the film was so beautiful.  On the scene where Sylvia walks into Neverland the music adds so much.  It's so, so sad, just as the real story is.

[redrose264]

Does anyone know what Andrew Birkin thought of Finding Neverland?

[AlexanderDavid]

Does anyone know what Andrew Birkin thought of Finding Neverland?

http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/msgbrd/index.php?topic=26.0

There you go. 

[tcarroll]

There is no way Finding Neverland could ever compare with Andrew's wonderful book.  The movie is not at all accurate regarding the true story, but it is still a beautifully acted and touching movie.  I myself am a die hard Johnny Depp fan, and I have never seen him in anything I enjoyed half as much as this movie, and like I've said before, it was the one thing that made me aware of this story, Mr. Barrie, and the Davies family.  Since I have seen it, I've searched and searched for information, read  and re-read Andrew's book, purchased the mini series, watched it several times....well you get the picture.  I remember going to the computer after the movie and typing in Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and a picture of Sylvia came up...I was so excited.  That was only the beginning..

[Moondust]

It's alright as a cup-of-tea, duvet and escapism evening. As an informative film, it's a bit "bleh" (for want of better wording)

I enjoy it as a fictional movie I can get a bit soppy over. But I don't watch it and feel as though I'm learning about JMB's life, or relating to the real-life Barrie in any way... it's like the film character and the real man are totally different in my mind, and while I like both, trying to reconcile them as the same person is difficult!

I suppose most of my negativity comes from the unbearable "Oh My God Johnny Depp, squueeee I love J M Barrie" rubbish I heard from friends when the movie came out. I'd been a fanatic about him and his works for quite some time, and hearing J M Barrie being squealed about as a heart-throb by teenage girls was actually the most uncomfortable experience of my life...

I do get a bit teary at the moment when he walks into his bedroom and you see the Neverland behind the door though. Sigh. 

And I admit, the night before a tutorial on JMB last year, I gave up on proper revision and watched FN, convincing myself it was allowed. I didn't tell my tutor though, shhh... 

I do like the theatre scenes too. Sucj beautiful and believable staging.

[tcarroll]

In the scene where Mr. Barrie walks into his bedroom door, you also see Mary walk into her bedroom door, and the difference behind the doors is interesting.  Mary to a dark room, Barrie to sunshine.  I think there is something inside all of us that longs for childhood, that innocent time when we didn't know about the evil in the real world, we were home and everyone we loved was there, alive and well. Mr. Barrie seemed to have the ability to just be a child again, but the rest of the world refuses to go there.  That is why I think he could play with the children and be comfortable doing so.  I see nothing wrong with it, I would love to have such an ability and imagination as his.

[mikey2573]

I find the worst part of FN to be Depp's performance as Barrie.  He captures none of Barrie's character at all.  Where are the mood swings, the depression, the cruelty (Barrie could be so cruel), the wit, the agony and pain when he loses Sylvia, the manipulativeness, the selfishness that contradicted the generosity?  All of those strange character traits that made Barrie so fascinating are nowhere to be found in Depp's performance.  But I particularly hate the way he whispers his way through the film.  SPEAK UP!! I can almost see/hear him thinking "Oh, I am going to UNDERPLAY this role and make it unflashy."  He did so to the point of making Barrie a boring dullard. 
Can you tell I hated this film??