Finding Neverland (2004)
The Cast
Johnny Depp .... Sir James Matthew Barrie
Kate Winslet .... Sylvia Llewelyn Davies
Julie Christie .... Mrs. Emma du Maurier
Radha Mitchell .... Mary Ansell Barrie
Dustin Hoffman .... Charles Frohman
Unfortunately, I'm not as much of a hard-ass as andythesaint, & the emotional movies that I tend to see in the prescence of humans part of the fairer, female persuasion of our species bring out the sappy side of me. However, I do hate annoying child actors, & this movie has a couple of them. Directed by Marc Forster, this is the story of the author of Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie.
Johhny Depp appears to be a master of accents, eclipsing even yours truly. It's true, I have talented vocal chords, but I don't have the heartthrob good looks to go along with. Society's loss I'd say. Depp dives headlong into his part, capturing the whimsical nature of Barrie with perfection. & there's also the lovely Kate Winslet in this movie as well. & that's not even mentioning the excruitiatingly hot Kelly McDonald.
Other than the child actors, of which I didn't like half of the main cast, just because I was annoyed by them, the only other part of the movie that didn't do anything for me was the Neverland part at the end. I have a feeling that might've been considered as the ending to the movie, but was changed because you're left feeling unsure of the character's respective fates.
Not much else to say about this movie. Filmed absolutely beautifully, with a star-studded cast & a painful, bittersweet ending. This is true quality, & though Depp's acting was superb, he makes it look effortless. So effortless, that I wondered why he got a Best Actor nom in the first place. Ah well, 4 outta 5.
Brodie 808's review
Mighty God King's review
Andy the Saint's review
Roger Ebert's review