Finding Neverland

I remember seeing this film at Celebration Cinema's in Lansing, MI with my then fiance Heidi and my good friend Todd Gray. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Todd Gray he is the movie expert turned AMC General Manager who I look up to and strive to be like each and every day. To simply refer to him as buddy in any post would be unjust.
Anyway, what I remember about that day is leaving the theater filled with a sense of joy for life that is not commonly felt in late November when there is a foot of snow on the ground. I also remember getting a great picture of me and Todd with me lifting him up in the air in bear hug. I mention all of this for two reasons: the first is that it's a good memory and second because I still feel that sense of joy for life when I still watch this film.
The film stars Johnny Depp in what may be his most subtle and perhaps best performance in a career that is filled with memorable performances. He plays J.M. Barrie, a playwright whose most recent play has received harsh reviews. While searching for his next idea for a play Barrie has a chance encounter with the Davies family. Barrie is learning to deal with the emotional difficulty of receiving poor reviews while Sylvia (played by Kate Winslett) and her boy's are learning to live the pain of losing their father. Together, Barrie and Davies clan find a way to help each other.
What follows a an a front to the limitations of life and death. The Davies clan provides Barrie with an inspiration to create a world unlike one that anyone has ever seen. That world is Neverland and at it's center is Peter Pan. In return for the inspiration the Davies provide Barrie he helps to renew the boys imagination and love for life.
The film is a dramatization of the creation of Peter Pan. It does not sugar coat the problems Barrie has with his wife Mary or the troubles facing Sylvia Llewelyn Davies both socially or physically. Because of that it is not always a happy or pleasant film. But the magic of the film is that it manages to bring to life the spirit of the Peter Pan story more successfully than any other film version I have ever seen. Director Marc Foster shows us Neverland with a visual style that is fantastic and watching this film again I can understand what it means to J.M. Barrie to live forever. Foster is able to seamlessly mix tragedy with joy in a way that reminds that even death is just another beginning. For me, it's a reminder that no matter what hardships we face there is no reason to stop living.