Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with another review of FINDING NEVERLAND, starring Johnny Depp as JM Barrie, creator of Peter Pan. I don't believe I've posted a negative review of this film yet. Depp is at the hight of his mainstream popularity right now and yet he's still as badass as he ever was to us that have been following his less mainstream work. I, for one, can't wait for this movie and will be there with bells on when Miramax decides it has been on the shelf long enough. Enjoy the review, all the way from Shreveport!!!

A special screening of Johnny Depp's "new" film, "Finding Neverland" was held in Shreveport, La. last weekend. I put the quotes on "new" because Miramax has been sitting on this one a while. But more on that in a moment.

Why Shreveport? The 100th anniversary of "Peter Pan" coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, so SRAC's celebration is all about Pan's centennial. James V. Hart, screenwriter of "Hook," and Bill Joyce, children's book author, animator and creator of the Disney Channel's "Rollie Pollie Ollie," are both from Shreveport and have some pull at Disney and got Miramax to screen the film here for a fundraiser. (The irony being, if it stays in limited release, it won't play our local commercial theaters. When a film opens in "select cities," we're rarely selected.)

The screening had a too-long pre-show program (local opera singers doing "Pan" songs, local actors performing "Pan" scenes ... honestly, if I never hear "I'm Flying" again I'll die a happy man). I was disappointed one feature was canceled, though: a scheduled swordfighting demonstration by Jan Bryant and Dan Speaker, who choreographed fight scenes in "Hook," "Master and Commander" and - coolest of all - "Army of Darkness." Didn't happen and no one explained why.

None of the stars nor director Marc Forster came to the Shreveport screening, as they were all at the Venice Film Festival. (Shreveport or Venice? Not a tough decision.) But screenwriter David Magee was here, and had a brief discussion with Hart and Joyce onstage before the film. Magee said he was hired to adapt Alan Knee's play "The Man Who Was Peter Pan" six years ago and it went through several directors (including Steven Spielberg) and ended up with Forster ("Monster's Ball"). Depp actually finished "Neverland" before "Pirates of the Caribbean," Magee pointed out, and "Neverland" was set for release late last year as one of Miramax's Oscar contenders. But some rights issues came up as to the film's usage of material from the original "Peter Pan," which was initially OK'd by the copyright holders (Barrie left the rights to a London children's hospital). But the issue became cloudy because of Universal/Sony's big-budget "Pan" 2003 feature. Magee said there was some back-and-forth lawyering but finally they were cleared to keep the "Pan" material in "Neverland" and Miramax decided to hold it until 2004 so as not to compete with the Sony "Pan" at all. It was a nice coincidence that 2004 happened to be Peter Pan's centennial, but not something they planned on, Magee said.

As for the film itself, well, check your irony at the door. It's an old-fashioned tear-jerker albeit with some modern flourish. There are some sly references to signature "Peter Pan" features but there's not much wink-wink.

In a nutshell, the film is about author James Barrie (Depp) and how he was inspired to write "Peter Pan." As the film opens, Barrie is already a successful playwright but is backstage at the debut of his newest work, pacing nervously. He watches the audience as they watch the play, and they're not enjoying it. There's a funny scene where Depp confronts a nervous new usher (Mackenzie Crook, Gareth from BBC's "The Office" and the glass-eyed pirate in "Pirates of the Carribbean") to get his honest opinion of the play, which he nervously avoids for fear it's a trick to get him fired.

The play flops and Barrie feels great pressure to write a hit for his longtime producer Charles Frohman (a delightfully droll Dustin Hoffman). While in the park one day, Barrie befriends a group of four young boys, the sons of Sylvia Davies (Kate Winslet), who recently lost her husband to cancer. The boys bring out an innocence and sense of fun in Bar> rie, who plays along with their games just like one of them. However, one of the boys, Peter, is far too serious for his age and lacks the imagination even to play along during cowboys 'n Injuns. But the boy is drawn to Barrie's writing process and begins to open up.

It is during his interaction with the boys that Barrie draws inspiration for Peter Pan and the other characters. (One of the biggest laughs comes from the inspiration for Captain Hook's namesake appendage.) The scenes with the boys are fun, and very funny, but this is ultimately a tragic story. Barrie spends so much time with the Davies it leads to the inevitable whispers around society. Particularly displeased by the friendship are Barrie's wife, Mary (Rhada Mitchell), a social-climber and snob, and the boys' grandmother, played by Julie Christie, who supports the widow and the boys financially, which she feels entitles her to a greater degree of control. (MINOR SPOILER): We also come to learn that Winslet is gravely ill, which she tries to keep a secret from her family until her deteriorating health becomes too obvious to hide.

Depp is superb, in a performance that couldn't be further removed from Jack Sparrow (well, except for the pirate scene). He cuts loose in his scenes with the boys, but for the most part he's very straightforward and somber, carrying the weight of the world in his eyes. There's much Oscar talk about Depp but I'm skeptical. It's a terrific acting job but it's not a showy role so its subleties may go unheralded by Academy voters. Same with Winslet, who deftly conveys her character's weakening condition but doesn't have a screaming fit "Oscar clip!" scene. Freddie Highmore will break your heart as the too-serious Peter, and he and Depp have some great scenes together.

Director Forster and screenwriter Magee made some interesting decisions and as much as I appreciate what the film is, I also appreciate what "Neverland" isn't. I particularly liked how the little moments of inspiration for signature "Peter Pan" elements are casually observed, rather than exploited for emotional effect. What I mean is, when Barrie sees something that we know will turn up in his play, a Hollywood hack director would zoom in on Barrie's face while his eyes widened and the "Eureka!" music swells to hammer home the point "This is a big moment!" Rather, Forster subtly drops them in and doesn't overplay them.

Some of the more effective scenes are when we go inside Barrie's mind and see what he's imagining. When they're playing cowboys, he doesn't imagine them actually being in the Old West, but rather on an elaborate staged version of the Old West. The best of these scenes is when they're playing pirates and Forster cuts back and forth from the real action to the elaborate vision in Barrie's head.

My dislikes: some of the dramatic themes had a definite "been there, done that" quality. Julie Christie is great but sometimes her character's a little too hissable a villain. And I could have done without Mary Barrie's line, as she and James are arguing about the sad state of their marriage, "This is not one of your plays!" That's a cliche'd line the otherwise clever script didn't need.

Ultimately, though, it's a very clever and moving look into a creative mind. Take a hankie, it will be tough for you not to cry. There was rapturous applause at the end, which would have been even louder were audience members not simultaneously wiping away tears.

ColumnBoy