Finding Neverland (Blu-ray)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C+     Film: C+

 

 

The obsession with James M. Barrie and Peter Pan has been annoying and has produced hardly anything new or interesting, plus has likely mutilated the original intent of the book and it author.  Marc Forester’s Finding Neverland (2004) is about the actual Barrie and tells the story of how he meets a widow and her children as pretext to writing his classic book.

 

Johnny Depp is Barrie, the always-likable Kate Winslet as the widow Sylvia and the story begins.  Unfortunately, despite a good cast that also includes Dustin Hoffman (Hook reference?), Julie Christie, the underrated Radha Mitchell and an ambition to be the most sincere and interesting film in the over-bloated cycle, it still misses the mark.  You have some good moments and good ideas out there, but the David Magee’s screenplay adaptation of Allan Knee’s book The Man Who Was Peter Pan never adds up to the magic or points it attempts.  It is worth a look for those interested, but everyone else who sees it should not have their hopes up too high.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is not the worst transfer we have seen in either format, but it is just not that great and can be middling in its depth, detail and look.  Roberto (Monster’s Ball) Schaeffer’s cinematography is only so memorable to begin with, but this disc confirms that many of the poor-looking Miramax DVD-Videos were in fact from problematic masters that should have never had problems to begin with.  This was shot in Super 35mm, but that is no excuse for the poor performance.

 

The same adequate Dolby Digital 5.1 track is here that was on the DVD-Video, but the PCM 24 bit/48kHz 5.1 mix is much better, smoother and clearer.  Too bad this is a dialogue-based film with only some moments of interesting surrounds and Jan A. Kaczmarek’s score taking advantage of the surrounds.  After Hook, I can understand the restraint approach, but being one of the few 24 bit PCM 5.1 mixes to date, I was expecting more.

 

Extras include a feature length audio commentary track by Director Marc Forster, Producer Richard Gladstein & Writer David Magee, Magic Of Finding Neverland & Creating Neverland featurettes, deleted scenes with optional commentary, On The Red Carpet piece and outtakes.  Some of those are in HD 1080p too and will be appealing if you like the film.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo