Finding Neverland Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
Set in London in 1904, the film follows J.M. Barrie's creative journey to bring Peter Pan to life, from his first
inspiration for the story up until the play's premiere at the Duke of York's Theatre - a night that will change not
only Barrie's own life, but the lives of everyone close to him. David Magee's screenplay is based on the play
"The Man Who Was Peter Pan," written by Allen Knee.
It may not bear much resemblance to what really happened, but fictionalized or not, 'Finding Neverland' is a charming and emotionally devastating look at the creative process.
I was the voice of Tinkerbell. You read that correctly, and I am fully aware you may be giggling insanely right now. But let me clarify. I was the vocal coach and rehearsal pianist for a gargantuan production of Peter Pan which played here in Portland, the "farewell tour" as it were of the Portland actress who had spent decades essaying the role. We had the original Broadway sets and costumes from the Cathy Rigby version, and the flying apparatus was rigged by some of the wizards of Cirque du Soleil. After the rehearsal process was over, I moved into the pit band where I assumed synth duties for a variety of sounds, including the celesta like tinkling that heralds Tinkerbell's escapades throughout the musical. Laugh if you will, but it was a magical experience and one that only was heightened by seeing the faces of kids (of all ages) in the audience light up like Tink herself as the timeless J.M Barrie story unfolded, whisking us all, at least for a little while, to Neverland. Like a lot of people who are presented with a fait accompli, I never really thought about the person behind the name on all the Playbills, but Finding Neverland makes getting to know James Barrie both a pleasure and, ultimately, an inspiration, at least for any who take their creative proclivities seriously.
For those of you who insist on historical accuracy in purported biographical films (and I am usually one of those), there are several inconsistencies with the actual record and Alan Knee's original play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan, as well as the screenplay adapted from this piece by David Magee. While the general outlines of the story are true—Barrie's perhaps inappropriate friendship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her sons, one of whom largely inspires Peter Pan—enough is changed, usually for heartstring tugging reasons, to give credence to the proposition that the film errs too much on the side of treacle and the overly sentimental. While it can't be disputed that Barrie and Llewelyn Davies did have a friendship (and most likely only a platonic one), the fact is that Sylvia was not a widow, as portrayed in the film, and indeed the fact that she still had a husband was part and parcel of why both Barrie's wife (portrayed in the film by Radha Mitchell) and Davies' mother (portrayed in the film by the magnficient Julie Christie) took such issue with the relationship. Sylvia's health issues were also not contemporaneous with the writing and performance of Pan. While that gives typical third act gravitas to the film, it seems in retrospect a bit of a cheat, metaphorically slapping the audience into misty eyed reaction when the truth is perhaps less ostensibly tragic and, frankly, less dramatic and more banal.
Johnny Depp is J.M. Barrie
If you can put aside these passing qualms, Finding Neverland is a really fascinating exploration of several dichotomies. While Barrie delights in childhood fantasties, and indeed brings them to life in his most renowned piece, Peter Pan, the entire film of Finding Neverland plays out against a series of very "adult" issues, including infidelity (whether real or imagined) and impending mortality. This sort of emotional ping ponging may be, as mentioned above, more than a bit of a cheat, especially when compared to "the facts and nothing but the facts," but it gives the film an undeniable emotional heft that I suspect few viewers will be totally immune to. Depp is curiously reserved in this part for a great deal of the time. When he more or less explodes in the fantasy segments, it's like watching a long repressed Edwardian discover the glories and terrors of his over creative Id. Winslet is lovely if somewhat wasted in a role that boils down to a woman buried under the tragedy of widowhood who ultimately discovers that's the least of her troubles. The real standout in this cast is Freddie Highmore (who also worked with Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Peter Llewelyn Davies, the troubled youngster who is forced to grow up before his time, ironically giving Barrie the inspiration to write a story about a boy who refuses to grow up. The more or less cameo performance by Christie as Emma du Maurier (the same family that spawned famed novelist Daphne) and Dustin Hoffman as producer Charles Frohman are fun and well written, if rather slightly written considering the star power of the actors portraying the roles. (It's interesting to note in passing that Hoffman was a rather sly Captain Hook in Steven Spielberg's much maligned reimagining of the Barrie story, Hook).
Finding Neverland also benefits immensely from a meticulous production design, one which brings the staid world of late 19th and early 20th century England home in a way that, perhaps strangely, makes the tamped down behavior of these people perhaps more understandable. This is an era of perfect furniture, china and, not so incidentally, manners. When Christie's Emma chafes at Barrie's joking at the dinner table, it's an incredible display of disdain communicated through the veneer of absolute gentility. Also of note (no pun intended) is Jan A.P. Kaczmarek's Oscar winning score, a work of charm and intimacy that helps to highlight the emotional roller coaster ride the main characters embark on throughout the film.
Each of us in the face of our own mortality may seek to retreat to a sort of perpetual childhood. It's the fascinating thesis of Finding Neverland that the creative impulse itself, whether that is manifested in something as simple as playing pretend, or something more profound like writing, is an avenue to achieve that state of grace and timelessness. If the exigencies of the "real world" too often crash in about our collective heads, flights of fancy as portrayed in the film give us at least a passing ticket to ride to a happier locale, where all is sweetness and light, at least until the ticking crocodile shows up.
Finding Neverland springs from the early days of Blu-ray transfers, and therefore comes to the format via an MPEG-2 encode. While that can be the harbinger of less than stellar transfers, there's really no need for alarm insofar as Finding Neverland's image quality goes. While the "real" segments are rather curiously quashed, from a color saturation standpoint, with a sort of soft and fuzzy look, the fantasy sequences more than make up for that, with abundant detail and a sharp, beautifully saturated palette. In fact, I'm certain that director Marc Forster had this visual dichotomy very much in mind as he filmed Neverland, and this Blu-ray recreates that original vision with accuracy. There are no artifacts of any import to discuss. While some viewers may find the blanched colors of the "real" segments off-putting, as well as some omnipresent grain (which borders on noise levels at least a time or two), on the whole this is a very nice looking Blu-ray which, while perhaps not reference quality, offers a strong and consistent image which accurately recreates the look of the original film.
While we are treated to an uncompressed LPCM 5.1 track (in addition to a standard DD 5.1), there's really not a whole lot of opportunity for immersion in this soundfield. Such moments, while rare, do pop up, notably in the opening sequence when various people arriving at the theater appear in the various surround channels, and, later, in any of the wonderful fantasy sequences, notably the "wild west" moments, when Barrie's exploits with the Llewelyn Davies children spill into the surrounds and give the listener the distinct impression they're right there in the midst of the fun themselves. While surround moments may not be omnipresent, the bulk of the soundtrack sounds completely clear, free of distortion and with no dropouts. Dialogue is always crisp and easy to understand, and the underscore is mixed beautifully into the proceedings. You will note a rather marked difference between the LPCM and DD tracks. I did some spot checking and was really quite surprised at how meager the DD's low end was in comparison to the LPCM. Much like the image quality, this may not be a "knock your socks off" soundtrack, but for a relatively small, quiet film like Finding Neverland, what's here suffices quite nicely.
All of the SD extras from the SD-DVD release have been ported over to the Blu-ray version. These include:
Commentary by Forster, Magee and Producer Richard Gladstein. Forster and Magee, to their credit, goes into some of the disparities between the historical record and the final film, giving some insight into their own creative process.
The Magic of Finding Neverland (18 minutes), a sort of EPK that is standard fare.
Outtakes, around 5 minutes of some fitfully amusing moments.
Creating Neverland, (3 minutes), a very brief look at the special effects in the film.
On the Red Carpet (3 minutes), footage from the premiere of the film.
One of the most remarkable theatrical experience I've ever witnessed was watching hundreds of people of all ages erupt into thundering applause to bring Tinkerbell back to life during the nightly performances of Peter Pan I played as part of the pit band. That same childlike wonder permeates Finding Neverland, which nonetheless doesn't shy away from some very grown up issues. Depp and Winslet are an appealing lead couple, the subject is unusual and often very touching, and the entire film will touch a lot of people very deeply, even if they're aware the historical record is substantially different from what's portrayed.
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