Finding Neverland...

Got the chance to catch "Finding Neverland" last night starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. This film was nominated for a couple of Oscars this year and I can definitely see why. This was a great film, well paced and beautifully acted. Johnny Depp was terrific as always, (frankly he's so good it's getting pretty old) and Kate Winslet was good as well. The story revolves around the struggles of J.M. Barrie and what he went through to write and bring "Peter Pan" to the stage. This film could have easily turned into a formulaic retelling of a love story we've heard thousands of times, man struggles with career, meets widow with family who inspires him, falls in love with the family, his marraige falls apart, is run off from new family, etc... It avoids falling into this trap by keeping it's sense of innocence without getting overly sentimental. Most screenwriters would have had the two lead characters fall in love in the first half hour and probably had one of the kids barge in on them in an uncomfortable moment and so on. This type of thing never happens in the movie and the love the two leads share for each other seems to be more of friendship than anything else. This was a terrific movie. Great story and great acting.