i like this, nothing amazing though.
regardless, i would have liked to see depp get an oscar purely for the fact that he (apart from the sentimental narrative) carries the film. he's amazing, as usual.
really nice imdb analysis of this that i read, too, follows:
I posted this somewhere else, but no one responded so I felt compelled to delete it and repost here. I read in some posts that there were two main arguments about why the film was not a "hunk of trash" - basicly that neither Johnny Depp nor the film itself was boring. I think that there is too much misguided criticism and back and forth ad hominem attacks about Depp and selling out or whatever. So anyway, let's take it down a notch:
Personally, I feel that the film is average, pedestrian fare. The movie fails to achieve brilliance for a variety of reasons. The fact that some people find it boring is probably irrellevant, because that is such a subjective judgement. As for Johnny Depp's performance, I think the movie fails on more basic levels than the nitty gritty acting details.
The main problems are those that have to do with the film's lack of artistic merit. If you are sucker for pretty costumes, nice sets, sappy sentimentality, or beautiful cinematography - fine! That means, however, that when you rate a movie, you provide a disclaimer, saying I like this movie for the fact that it made me cry. Similarly, a fan of campy movies will often state his or her bias for the type of movie when stating his opinion - example; "I love Plan 9 from Outer Space. It's the greatest...I'm a huge fan of really really bad movies." I find it totally stupid that people proclaim this movie "brilliant"..."an instant classic" or "an experience" when they should instead honestly examine whether their criteria for rating the movie is abject.
People would then realize that there is more to a movie than such superficial elements. I mean, should I get an Oscar just because my movie tugs at heartstrings? Damn, all I would have to do is make a movie about kittens or something and I would be everyone's genius...just because my movie is free of 200,000 Orcs (someone else said this) that no one cares about?
Oh, wait a minute...You mean there is more? Yes, I have other criticisms of Finding Neverland. It's a generic treatment of a story that's been told 1000 times. There have already been a ton of stories about loved ones dying from tuberculosis (or whatever) and the friction between families and the strain on relationships and so forth. One might say that the film has to remain true to elements of the story...fine, but a film that only pays attention to the plot outline is very boring. What is the difference between an artist and newspaper reporter otherwise?
In the first minutes of the movie, we see Mr. Barrie spying nervously on the audience. That was one of the few worthwile insights of the film. It is a perfect example of something that the film could have set its sights on, explored, analyzed, etc. Instead, it forgot about that notion and moved on into standard fare territory...about a guy that makes a friendship with a widower...bla bla.
Another thing...the film was devoid of any complexity. The portrayal of the relationship with the wife, and the later portrayal of the widower's mother were completely artisticly irresponsible. In other words, a load of crap! The wife basicly goes on her own sans confrontation. The film meanwhile summons some lame mumbo jumbo about her finding neverland as the explanation. The widower's mother simply shifts allegiance somewhat for no apparant reason...wowee - I guess the filmmakers were really true artists, not! There was little consideration of the pyschology of the characters.
I strongly believe that this film should not be in the TOP 250. Irregardless of the acting performances, the film was essentially empty and lacking in creativity and insight. The film holds our hand throughout the film, and chews our food for us. Yes, I realize it's a biopic, but if they wanted to create a work of art (work of art = brilliant movie), the filmmakers could have done more than simple emotional manipulations.
