I love Johnny Depp, but I don’t necessarily like all of his movies. By far, one of my favorite Johnny Depp movies is “Finding Neverland”.  Last weekend we had a Johnny Depp marathon at my house, and this was one of the films we watched.

I like this movie not only because it stars Depp, but I really enjoy the story as well. It is the story of the family who inspired J.M. Barrie’s classic “Peter Pan”.

Depp plays Sir James Matthew Barrie. As the movie begins, we see Barrie at the theater, where one of his plays is being performed. It is a flop, as many of his plays have been. In the days following, we see Barrie at the park trying to write. He meets Michael, George, Peter, and Jack – the four sons of the widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, played by Kate Winslet. Soon Barrie is spending all of his time with the boys, and their mother, much to the chagrin of his wife and Ms. Davies’ mother, Mrs. du Maurier, played by Julie Christie.

The actions and antics of the boys inspire Barrie to write a fantasy story about children who never grow up. He asks permission of Peter if he can use his name in the story, but doesn’t tell him that Peter is the main character of the story. Of the four boys, Peter has had the most difficult time with their father’s death, and has a hard time accepting Barrie into the family’s life.

Because Barrie spends so much time with Sylvia and her boys, it puts a strain on his marriage and it eventually fails. He has fallen in love with Sylvia. Sylvia’s mother does not approve of Barrie spending time with her daughter and grandsons. Sylvia becomes very ill and has to rely on her mother to take care of her sons. Since she does not approve of Barrie, he is unable to spend as much time as he would like with Sylvia.

When Barrie’s play, “Peter Pan” opens, Sylvia is too ill to attend opening night. Since the family, except for Peter, was not able to be at the theater, Barrie brings the play to the family. He turns the garden into Neverland, and the play is acted out at the home. Everyone thoroughly enjoys “Peter Pan”, even Mrs. du Maurier, who eagerly admits that she believes in fairies.