Lately there's been a lot of writing on this site regarding
the “Best Films of 2004,” with Sideways
and The Incredibles being the two favorites.
I haven't seen The Incredibles, but I have seen
Sideways, and I would definitely recommend it.
In my opinion, it is clearly one of the best films I saw
over the past year. But having now posted three different
“Best Films” lists—which mentioned a total
of 16 different films—there is, in my opinion, one
glaring omission.
I'm
not sure if Finding
Neverland is the best film of 2004, but it might be,
and if nothing else, it certainly belongs in the discussion.
No, its director isn't a legend, like Scorsese and The
Aviator, and it isn't the media darling that Sideways
is. But overall it's a solid, well done film.
It's the story of J. M. Barrie, who is expertly played by
Johnny Depp. Over the course of the film, he develops
a relationship with four boys and their widowed mother (Kate
Winslet), and his experiences with them inspire him to write
the play Peter Pan. Of course, the play proves
to be a magnificent success, and everyone lives happily
ever after.
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| Kate
Winslet and Johnny Depp teach her boys how to fly a
kite, one of their many adventures together. |
That
may not sound like much, and on a minimal level, it isn't.
After all, many films have happy endings. Then why
is this film so good, you ask? Ultimately, it boils
down to Depp. For anyone that has followed his career
over the last decade or so, his acting skills should come
as no surprise, but I think for the average viewer, he is
vastly underrated. Many of the roles he has chosen
probably seem superficial, even childlike in their simplicity.
The title role in Cry-Baby, the title role in Edward
Scissorhands, Sam in Benny and Joon, and then
more recently Roux in Chocolat, Jack Sparrow in
Pirates of the Caribbean, and now Barrie—all
of these roles reek of childishness and fantasy. Yet
somehow, Depp has mastered the art of legitimizing immaturity,
of validating the childlike.
In
the film, Barrie starts out as your typical struggling playwright—a
wife, a nice home, a series of good yet unspectacular plays—which
is amazingly similar to the start to Depp's career, when
he had typical small roles in big films (A Nightmare
on Elm Street, Platoon) before moving on to
TV (21 Jump Street). Both then take a major
risk—Barrie with his fantasy play Peter Pan,
and Depp with Tim Burton's fantasy Edward Scissorhands.
From that point, it becomes clear that Depp will not take
any easy roles, instead opting for those that challenge
and inspire him, which also seems to be the moral of Finding
Neverland.
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| Johnny
Depp speaks to Freddie Highmore about what it takes
to be a writer in Finding Neverland. |
Beyond
Depp, it's the remainder of the cast that pushes Finding
Neverland over the top. Winslet as the widow
Davies is excellent; her portrayal of Davies' illness was
entirely convincing, and the widow's love for her children
is apparent in her every move. Julie Christie as Winslet's
mother, Mrs. Emma du Maurier, is also superb, both as Barrie's
nemesis and as his eventual advocate. Dustin Hoffman
is fantastic as patron-of-the-arts Charles Frohman, even
though his role is somewhat limited. But the real
star of the supporting cast is 12-year-old Freddie Highmore,
who plays Peter Davies, the namesake of Peter Pan.
The extreme levels of cynicism and pain that he portrays
are unbelievably real, yet it wasn't until long after viewing
the film that I recognized the impressiveness of this feat.
Upon what does a 12-year-old draw inspiration for this type
of performance? Honestly, I don't know. But
I'm not surprised that Depp lobbied for Highmore to star
with him in his next film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate
Factory. His performance was just that amazing.
In
the end, though, Finding Neverland serves as a
microcosm of Depp's career. The refusal to conform
to industry standards, the risk-taking, the manifestation
of the “boy who never grew up”—it's all
there. And after the successful opening of the play,
when Peter Davies exclaims, “I'm not Peter Pan.
He's Peter Pan!”, his exclamation encapsulates all
that J.M. Barrie was and Johnny Depp is. Our
opportunity to watch a master of his craft at work is one
of the great beauties of the film. Sideways
may offer a slice of life, but Finding Neverland
is much more, a fairy tale about reality about a fairy tale,
both perfectly told and perfectly performed.
Martell
can be reached at martell@babblog.com.
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