Finding Neverland (2004)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding Neverland is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2004.

 

It is about the famous Scottish novelist and playwright James Matthew Barrie and how the adventure about Peter Pan and Neverland was created.

 

The timing is significant. This drama premiered in 2004 in order to mark and remember the 100-year anniversary of the play about Peter Pan which premiered in 1904.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Director: Marc Forster

** Writer: David Magee

** Based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee (1998)

** Released on DVD in 2011

** Available via Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: 101 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Johnny Depp as James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) – 

a playwright

** Radha Mitchell as Mary Ansell Barrie (1861-1945) 

–Barrie’s wife

** Dustin Hoffman as Charles Frohman (1856-1915) – 

Barrie’s producer

** Kate Winslet as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (1866-1910) – 

a widow and a mother of four boys

** Julie Christie as Emma du Maurier – 

Sylvia’s mother

** Nick Roud as George Llewelyn Davies (1893-1915) – 

son # 1

** Joe Prospero as Jack Llewelyn Davies (1894-1959) – 

son # 2

** Freddie Highmore as Peter Llewelyn Davies (1897-1960) –

son # 3

** Luke Spill as Michael Llewelyn Davies (1900-1921) – 

son # 4

 

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.

 

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.

 

Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for dramatic reasons or practical purposes. But the basic story is true.

 

The time frame of this drama is quite short: it begins in 1903 and ends in 1904. It covers only two years of Barrie’s life, but these two years are crucial: during this time, he creates the famous adventure about Peter Pan, “the boy who did not want to grow up.”

 

The inspiration comes to him when he meets Sylvia Davies and her four boys in Kensington Park.

 

The boys have a lot of imagination and when Barrie spends time with them, he finds the inspiration to write his play about Peter Pan and Neverland, which premiered in 1904.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama? 

 

Here are some results:

 

** 67 percent = Meta

** 77 percent = IMDb

** 83 percent = Rotten Tomatoes – the critics

** 87 percent = Rotten Tomatoes – the audience

 

On Amazon there are more than 4,100 ratings of this product; more than 2,400 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.7 stars which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I can understand why. As a source of family entertainment, Finding Neverland works very well.

 

This drama will make a big impression on many viewers. But it is not just a drama. It is a drama that is based on a true story.

 

What happens if we compare the drama with the historical facts? In that case, we will find that the movie-makers have taken many liberties with the true story about Barrie and how the adventure of Peter Pan came to be. 

 

Let me explain:

 

# 1. In the drama, Barrie meets Sylvia and her four boys in Kensington Park in 1903. This is not true.

 

He met the boys and their nurse (their nanny) in Kensington Park in 1897. He met Sylvia at a dinner party later in that same year.

 

When Sylvia talked about her boys, Barrie realized that these were the boys he had met in the park. Their friendship begins in 1897 (not in 1903).

 

# 2. In the drama, Sylvia is a widow when Barrie meets her in 1903. This is not true!

 

Sylvia’s husband Arthur was born in 1863. He was still alive in 1897, when Barrie met Sylvia. And he was still alive when the play about Peter Pan premiered in 1904.

 

Arthur died three years later, in 1907. Barrie knew him for ten years. They were not good friends. Arthur did not like the way Barrie entered the life of his family, but this is not the point here.

 

The point is that Arthur has been eliminated from the story and that Sylvia was not a widow until 1907.

 

# 3. In the drama, Sylvia and Arthur are the parents of four boys: George, Jack, Peter, and Michael. But in the real world, Sylvia and Arthur had five boys.

 

The fifth boy Nicholas (aka Nico) was born in 1903. He died in 1980. He is not included in this drama. He has been written out of the story; perhaps because the director did not want to have a screaming infant on the set!

 

# 4. In the drama, Sylvia is so sick that she cannot attend the premiere of Peter Pan in 1904. This is why Barrie arranges for a small-scale version of the play to be performed in the Davies home.

 

A small-scale version of the play was in fact performed in the Davies home, but not for the benefit of a sick Sylvia. It was for the benefit of a sick Michael.

 

# 5. In the drama, Sylvia dies in 1904, shortly after the premiere of Peter Pan. This is not true. Her health was failing, but she lived until 1910.

 

Barrie knew her for 13 years. And they were good friends. In the drama, the story of these 13 years is compressed to only two years (1903 and 1904).

 

# 6. In the drama, Sylvia’s mother Emma du Maurier is not happy about the way Barrie enters the life of the Davies family. This version of history is not very likely.

 

Emma, who came from a family of artists and writers, would have welcomed a person with some imagination. 

 

This character seems to be based on Mary Hodgson (1876-1962), who was the nurse (the nanny) of the Davies family.

 

Mary Hodgson was critical of Barrie and his role in the Davies family. But the nurse is not included in the drama. She has also been written out of the story.

 

# 7. The drama ends with the funeral of Sylvia (supposedly in 1904). There is no information about what happened to Barrie and the Davies boys after the death of their mother (who died in 1910).

 

It is not a happy story. Perhaps this is why the director decided that he would not say anything about it.  He does not even use on-screen messages to tell us what happened to them later on.

 

On-screen messages are often placed at the end of a historical and biographical drama. But in this drama, the fate of these persons is left hanging in the air. This is not a good way to end a drama.

 

As stated above, there are basically two ways to approach this drama:

 

(1) If you want to be entertained by a good story, Finding Neverland is a good choice. You can enjoy it. You can have a good time watching it.

 

(2) If you think a historical and biographical drama should follow the historical facts as much as possible, Finding Neverland is a big disappointment, because historical truth is violated in many ways.

 

I cannot go for the first option. I have to go for the second option. I think a historical drama should follow the true story as closely as possible.

 

I am ready to accept minor changes in order to avoid confusion, but I cannot accept changes when there is no good reason to make them.

 

The true story of Barrie and how the adventure of Peter Pan was created is interesting in itself. There is no need to “improve” it in any way. 

 

Why choose a true story and then proceed to distort it in many significant ways? To me, this does not make any sense.

 

In my opinion, this drama is highly overrated. Many reviewers ignore the fact that historical accuracy is low. Perhaps they are not even aware of this fact?

 

I think this is a serious flaw, which cannot be ignored. I have to remove three stars because of this flaw. I cannot offer more than two stars (40 percent).

 

PS # 1. There is a serious mistake in the beginning of the drama where we see Barrie before his play is about to begin. He is nervous. He wants to look at the audience, but he does not want them to see him. 

 

This is why he stands behind the curtain with a special 90-degree telescope which allows him to look at the audience, while they cannot see him.

 

He sticks the telescope out between the two parts of the curtain, so he can look at the audience, while the audience cannot see him; they can only see the telescope. 

 

But what happens next? He pulls the two parts of the curtain apart and places his face in the gap. Now he can look at the audience, but now the audience can also see him!

 

The purpose of the telescope is to look at the audience in secret. When he sticks out his face, they can see him! 

 

What is the point of having the special telescope, when he shows his face anyway?

 

What is the reason for this mistake? I think the director wanted us to see the face of Johnny Depp. But this is absurd. We should not see his face in this scene. We should only see the telescope.

 

I blame the director and the cameraman for this mistake. To make it worse, it happens more than once!

 

PS # 2. Charles Frohman (Barrie’s producer) was a passenger on the Lusitania in May 1915 when this ocean liner was attacked and hit by a torpedo from a German submarine. 

 

He was one of many passengers who did not survive this attack.

 

PS # 3. Dustin Hoffman has a personal connection with the adventure of Peter Pan: he plays Captain Hook in Steven Spielberg’s movie Hook which premiered in 1991.

 

PS # 4. Via their mother Sylvia and their grandmother Emma, the five Davies boys are related to the famous British author Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989).

 

PS # 5. For more details about fact and fiction in Finding Neverland, please visit the following websites:

 

** Chasing the Frog (aka History vs. Hollywood)

** Alt Film Guide

 

*****

Finding Neverland

A historical and biographical drama 

which premiered in 2004

 

*****

The Scottish novelist and playwright

James Matthew Barrie

(1860-1937)

 

*****