Finding Sentimentalism

I haven’t revealed my source of movies yet, but I’m not too proud to say that I get them from the library, both my university library and my public city library. This source means two things, besides that I get my movies for free: 1) about half of the movies I get screw up in the middle because they’re scratched, and I never get to finish them, and 2) I rarely get to watch very recent movies.

I did manage to put Finding Neverland (2004) on hold a couple of months ago, and I finally got it and watched it. My initial reaction to this movie was that it was great: although a bit overly sentimental, it was still charming and uplifting.

I know he’s a favorite of many, but I generally don’t like Johnny Depp. He seems a one-trick pony to me. He’s always the slightly goofy guy who either doesn’t smile or smiles too much. It fit Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), but we had seen the same character in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and Blow (2001). In fact, I was beginning to wonder whether Depp knew how to pick good scripts. He had hopefully already done Secret Window (2004) before Pirates was released. Now he’s choosing wisely. We have Finding Neverland and the anticipated, well-received Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). He’s great in Neverland. His Irish accent was good, and he was imaginative without being childish. Depp was gold here.

Although I have never really liked Johnny Depp (except in his 21 Jump Street days), I have always liked Kate Winslet. Ever since Heavenly Creatures (1994), Winslet has proven herself a good actress who knows how to pick quirky, good movies. Her list of movies is really impressive, with only a few dark spots (Titanic and Life of David Gale). And even these dark spots are somewhat redeemable. She is excellent in Neverland, too. She isn’t flashy, but she’s still beautiful, and she comes across as simply an excellent actress.

The kids are great, too, but they seem beside the point. Yes, the Peter character is well-done, but he really just has to stand there and either smile or look brooding. It’s Depp and Winslet who carry the show.

So this is overall an excellent movie. My favorite part was the editing, which was so necessary. This film was obviously much longer to begin with, and the editor did a great job of cutting to scenes without explanation. Yet we were able to figure out what was happening. It was wonderful to see a great drama that wasn’t drawn out. See my review of The Horse Whisperer to hear me gripe about these overwrought films.

But I’m thinking about the message of the movie now, and it makes me question it. People are never really gone if you imagine them—that’s not all that bad, is it? No, not really. It’s a nice sentiment, but that’s what is, a sentiment. I can live with that.

The part I can’t live with is Barrie’s relationship with his wife. Perhaps it’s the fact that I just finished reading Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth last night, but the movie didn’t spend much time on the scandal of Barrie, Mrs. Barrie, and Winslet’s character. As society players, all three of them would have been shunned for their actions. The mom was right when she criticized Barrie for putting Winslet up in the summer cottage: that’s what a rich man does for his mistress, not for a simple friend. And those things are expected to be “paid for.”

But let’s take a step back. Mrs. Barrie gets a bad rap here as a general witch, but she’s not all that bad. Barrie says that she has no imagination, but she’s right, too: she couldn’t join him in his flights of introverted fancy. Perhaps he never let her join, or perhaps she couldn’t, but it’s sad to see him forsake his marriage nevertheless. That’s what really bugs me here. Instead of trying to save his marriage, he lets it all go for another family of kids. Could he not have children of his own? Would that have satisfied them? Sure, they’re his “muses,” but couldn’t he have found that in his own family?

Barrie doesn’t exactly commit adultery, but he comes close to it. In fact, an argument could be made that he DOES commit adultery. The film makes sure we know that his wife runs off with another man, so that she becomes the bad one, but it’s really Barrie who has pushed her away.

Those kinds of strange familial messages bother me. They don’t take away from the quality of the film, but they do make it a bit more than simply a nice sentimental movie. If my kids watched this, I would have to have a long talk with them about marriage.

Yes, I know I’m becoming conservative in my old age. Perhaps I should just accept it.

Grade of Finding Neverland: 8