Do you want to grow up? surely I didn’t. But alas we all did... we lost our innocence, our moments as kids when we believed that fairies did exist...the day we believed that if we only tried harder we could fly... soon enough we were surrounded by the mundane particularities of everyday life.
We look at our childhood with a wistful longing...wishing it all came back to us again.I believe this was the thought that truly inspired j m barry to write his classic play ’’PETER PAN’’.
Who doesn’t know about this play...a story of a boy named peter who never wants to grow up, well aided by tinkerbell, finding a friend in wendy, his nemesis captain hook and his haunt ’’neverland’’. But what actually inspired j m barry to write such an unique piece of literature in an era where plays were written for the aristrocrats to see and muse over in their haloed parlours?... the movie ’’finding neverland’’ gives us a sort of a clue as what must have really happened.
’’Finding Neverland’’ is based on a play called ’’the man who wrote peter pan’’... starring johnny depp (james m barry), kate winslet (sylvia davies), dustin hoffman and radha mitchell(mrs barry... of ’’phone booth’’ fame) to name a few.
The movie begins in 1903, a time when james was facing an intense lack of inspiration to write his plays...the polite socialites would only praise his work in vague non-specific terms but the critics were ruthless...they termed his work as a failed / disappointing show. this was something though even james had realised and was trying to desperately to find something to write on when in walks mrs sylvia davies with her four delightful kids.
Sylvia was a widow, her husband had died of ’’cancer of the jaw’’ and now she lived with the help of support from her mother. james found her and her sons.. especially peter very charming and started spending more and more time with them... he became almost their father figure, their uncle..sylvia’s friend and in return he got the basis with which he could write a play...precisely ’’peter pan’’.
What you may think is that it is a historical account of what might have happened in j m barrie’s life and treat it as just another movie. hear that it has been nominated for 7 oscars and decide it is some serious movie which only a few members of the family would enjoy.
I urge you not to make that mistake. I must insist that the film creates a sense of magic which is so palpable that tears would fill your eyes when you see yourself believing once more that fairies do exist.. that all you need to do is believe.it is film that everyone who is anyone should watch.
The portrayal of friendship between a man and a woman is also beautifully rendered. when a married man (james) takes such an uncanny interest in spending time with a beautiful widow (sylvia) and her children it obviously sets many a tongue wagging... even sylvia’s mother and james’ wife (radha) disapproves and tries to find some ulterior motive in this friendship.
But when sylvia suffers from consumption (TB) and is on her death bed all that james says is ’’she is my friend and I love her very much’’. and when asked if he would take care of sylvia’s children now that she is dead james leaves no doubt in our minds saying, ’’do you think I would abandon her children?’’ such friendship.. such portrayals are hard to find... a rarity.
Another relationship worth watching out for is that between james and sylvia’s son peter. James claims that ’’peter is trying to grow up too fast’’. He is a quiet child, has changed ever since the death of his father and he definitely does not want a father in james. But between this animosity grew a bond of affection and understanding where James realised that peter was truly in search of a friend and peter understood that although the character in the ’’peter pan’’ was his namesake, it was actually james himself who was the boy who never wanted to grow up.