7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
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.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell, Dustin HoffmanRomance | 100% |
Biography | 15% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
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
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:
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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