Finding Neverland vs About A Boy

I'm not exactly what you'd call a fan of whimsy. If something is designed to be cute or cuddly or heartwarming, it's likely to have the opposite effect on me. Before Finding Neverland, I saw the trailer for a movie called Because of Winn Dixie, which is about a sad, small town turned around by a dog that can smile. At one point in the trailer, a little girl says, “I think people forgot how to share their joy.” Whatever you say, kid. Finding Neverland has all the elements necessary to set me cringing, and with wee British accents to boot. So why did I like it so much? Is it possible that little Winn Dixie girl was right? Damn Winn Dixie girl.

Finding Neverland tells a portion of the story of J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp), the author of Peter Pan. At the beginning of the film, he's in the midst of failure. His current play is such a flop he can only bring himself to watch portions of it from the lobby, and he's able to rouse an usher to call it crap, even though it's not clear the usher has even seen the play. The usher, by the way, is played by Mackenzie Crook, Gareth from The Office, so I couldn't give Finding Neverland a bad review even if I wanted to.

Fortunately for Barrie, his producer (a very funny Dustin Hoffman) has contracted the actors and booked the theater long-term, so they'd still like a new play from him, but you know, the pressure's on. Barrie gets little support at home. His wife (Radha Mitchell) is a cold Victorian who values his work more for the social connections it brings than for any artistic value. They have no children, and if their separate bedrooms are an indication, they don't have plans for any.

In the park playing fetch with his enormous dog, Barrie meets the Davies family. Sylvia (Kate Winslet) is a widow with four boys who are immediately smitten with Barrie when he introduces his dog as a giant bear and proceeds to waltz around the park. The scene is intercut with Barrie dancing with a man in a bear suit under a big-top, while trapeze girls pose all around. It's a beautiful moment, and one I'm convinced only Johnny Depp could play. The kids, like me, are generally won over by it, except for Peter, the middle son, who is more serious and still grieving over the death of his father.

Because Sylvia has no income or companionship (and a cold Victorian of her own at home, in the form of her mother, played by Julie Christie), she warms quickly to Barrie as well, and soon they've become inseparable. “Uncle James” plays with the boys constantly, encouraging their imaginations, and the same starts happening for him. As they play Indians, or Pirates, Barrie becomes inspired, taking notes for what would eventually be Peter Pan, while the visuals adjust according to his imagination. For example, the boys jumping on the bed becomes the boys flying around the room, and an umbrella in Christie's hand becomes a hook.

I'm so glad this movie wasn't made ten years ago, cause you know there would have been a Michael Jackson song on the soundtrack.

Director Marc Forster's previous film was Monster's Ball, qualifying him as what you might call a director with range. Finding Neverland is emotional and sincere; seriously, if you don't get at least a little misty when the curtain rises on Peter Pan, or when Barrie shows Sylvia the real Neverland, something's wrong with you. Likewise, it's also smart and full of lush visuals. English gardens give way to colorful fantasy sequences which are then celebrated in stylized stage productions. One amazing scene combines all three, as Barrie and the Davies family play pirates and are caught on their ship during a horrible storm, with barking sharks jumping out of giant paper waves.

Finding Neverland has top-notch performances all around. Johnny Depp is an actor who could make do with lesser costars, but here he gets Kate Winslet, who I'm rapidly coming to find just might be perfect. As Sylvia, she's stubborn and determined, but also fun and easy to laugh. Much of Finding Neverland requires her to suffer nobly, but she never panders, which can't be easy when you're surrounded by teary-eyed British kids. Winslet's not even thirty, yet seems to have no interest in playing girlfriends or babydolls or even sexy assassins. Are we sure she's from this planet? It's hard to believe she played her roles in Finding Neverland and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in the same year. Maybe she's a twin or something. Likewise, Johnny Depp is fantastic as J.M. Barrie, ignoring every opportunity to ham it up, instead portraying Barrie's at times outlandish behavior as that of a creative man whose talent was in direct proportion to his loneliness.

And little Freddie Highmore, as Peter, continues to break my heart as I type this. Damn teary-eyed British kid.

Finding Neverland is probably the friendliest movie I've ever seen. Death is kept off-screen, leaving the on-screen conflicts to levels of problems caused by playing with your food at dinner, or coughing during a play. Barrie never really faces much opposition to his play, even when the actors find out they'll be playing things like mermaids and dogs. And Barrie's relationship with the Davies boys causes a bit of gossip about town, but it never so much as interrupts afternoon kite-flying. Even when Peter destroys the stage of his at-home play, all I could think was, “He's a good boy.” The actors find so much truth in Finding Neverland, that it never seems sugary or false or Because-of-Winn-Dixie-trailerish, and for that I was grateful, but frankly, in the mood for something a little meaner. Just a little. Nice, but not too nice, you know?

About a Boy follows a tone similar to Finding Neverland: an immature man befriends a sad boy and his sick mother. One thing About a Boy could never be accused of, however, is being overly sentimental. There will only be dry eyes in the house.

Hugh Grant stars as Will, a man who enjoys consumerism to its fullest, dates beautiful women, and has never considered starting a family as much as he's considered say, getting bigger speakers, or maybe a sharp new aquarium. He's like the British Jerry Seinfeld. Will learns that single mothers are attracted to him, and that the lower-level of commitment they require fits nicely into his shallow lifestyle.  Through a series of events that would sound way too contrived if I repeated them here, Will attends a single-parents mixer and meets a lonely boy named Marcus, played by Nicholas Hout. Marcus has a terrible haircut, absolutely no knowledge of current trends or pop culture, and a depressed mother (Toni Collette). At first, Will treats Marcus as many of his classmates do, with contempt and sarcasm. Eventually, he's warmed up to Marcus some, and an unconventional friendship begins, with Will teaching Marcus the finer points of sneakers and hip-hop, while Marcus just might be getting inside Will's heart a little. It doesn't hurt that the little nerd is practically blackmailing Will into it.

I've read the book About a Boy is based on (but not Peter Pan. Something is seriously wrong with me), and was pleasantly surprised at how safely the characters made the transition from page to screen. For example, I was completely surprised that the filmmakers didn't devise some sort of makeover subplot for Collette (who is brilliant as always) to pretty her up into a potential love interest for Hugh Grant.

About a Boy is very funny, and quite smart in the way it avoids all the clichés that are right at arm's length the entire time. Will isn't one of those heartless capitalists who learns to find his inner child; he's practically a child already. Like J.M. Barrie, Will doesn't want to be a father to his new young friend, he wants to be a contemporary, talking music and video games, and maybe bed some hot moms while he's at it. It's the sort of selfish, darkly comic stuff that suits Grant perfectly, and cools back down my cynical heart after the workout it got in Finding Neverland.

Finding Neverland: B+
About a Boy: A-