LSC Event Descriptions

April 22 & 24, 2005

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Rated PG
106 minutes

Finding Neverland (2004)
April 22, 2005 at 7:00 and 10:00pm in 26-100, and
April 24, 2005 at 7:00pm in 26-100.

The boundless imagination of the man behind "Peter Pan" and the poignancy of his journey combine in this emotional tale inspired by events in the life of Scottish author James Mathew Barrie. In Finding Neverland, director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) and an accomplished cast including Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman and Julie Christie take a fictional look at the creation of "Peter Pan," the classic of children's literature that speaks directly to the child in all of us. Finding Neverland traverses both fantasy and everyday reality, melding the difficulties and heartbreak of adult life with the spellbinding allure and childlike innocence of the boy who never grows up.

It all begins as successful Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie (Depp) watches his latest play open to a ho-hum reaction among the polite society of Edwardian England. A literary genius of his times but bored by the same old themes, Barrie is clearly in need of some serious inspiration. Unexpectedly, he finds it one day during his daily walk with his St. Bernard Porthos in London's Kensington Gardens. There, Barrie encounters the Llewelyn Davies family: four fatherless boys and their beautiful, recently widowed mother (Winslet).

Despite the disapproval of the boys' steely grandmother Emma du Maurier (Christie) and the resentment of his own wife (Radha Mitchell), Barrie befriends the family, engaging the boys in tricks, disguises, games and sheer mischief, creating play-worlds of castles and kings, cowboys and Indians, pirates and castaways. He transforms hillsides into galleon ships, sticks into mighty swords, kites into enchanted fairies and the Llewelyn Davies boys into "The Lost Boys of Neverland." [rottentomatoes.com]

2004 Oscar Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Actor (Johnny Depp)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Score - WON
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design

"Finding Neverland has a radiance that comes primarily from Depp's performance but finally suffuses the whole movie -- with its marvelous cast and lovingly created images of a British Edwardian past."
      -- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune. Read this review.

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