Finding Neverland

I had in mind a grand adventure today.

In the midst of all this holiday hustle and bustle, I had decided to duck into the 15-screen cineplex in O’Fallon where, I had learned, Closer AND Finding Neverland were playing. I had mapped out my itinerary: I would watch the 12:05 showing of Closer and then see Neverland at 2:45. IF I felt like seeing a 2nd movie ... which I was pretty sure I would ... and I had even decided it would be OK for me to sneak on over to the 2nd movie ’cause, what the heck, it was the matinee, anyway.

: )

And because it was noon-ish, the place was not crowded at all, so I did my bidness and then went in to find my seat for Closer. And I was all excited ’cause the theater had stadium seating, which means no matter how big the woman in front of you’s hair is, you can easily see over it ... in fact, you don’t even see the person or people in front of you, that’s how high up each successive row is.

Then the manager came in and said there was going to be a slight delay because they had to put the right movie in. Which should’ve made me wonder or something, but then he started handing out FREE PASSES, so I was thinking: Cool! Three free movies for the price of one! And then I moved myself on up to the tippy-top row, dead-center, and propped my feet up to wait for the show to begin.

And then it started. And there on the screen was Brad Pitt. And I thought, that’s funny, I had no idea Brad Pitt was in this movie. And he walked over to kiss Catherine Zeta-Jones, and I realized: Wrong movie. (Ocean’s Twelve, which I have absolutely NO desire to see, ever.)

Piss!

I scampered out of that theater, which, by the way, had an Ocean’s Twelve sign over the door but a HUGE-ass Closer poster ON the door (go figure) and down to the REAL Closer theater at the end of the hallway. That movie had already begun (20 minutes before, actually; right on time!), and there was no way I was going to start watching it, midway through.

Luckily, though, Finding Neverland was just getting ready to start. So, no real harm, really.

This film made my scalp tingle. Which I have come to realize is a very, very good thing when it comes to me and movies. So many great actors and performances: Kate Winslet, Radha Mitchell (yay, High Art Syd!), Johnny D. and Julie Christie, my GOD, did I love her in Heaven Can Wait, especially when she says the word “familiar,” right there toward the end. Most memorable, though, was Freddie Highmore ... and the rest of the boys, too, and of course, my Dustin.

I do not remember how old I was when I first saw Peter Pan, but I remember being amazed by the wonder of it all. And the ability to fly. And the way this film incorporates that play with the artist’s life ... well, just now, I wanted to compare it (favorably) to Shakespeare in Love, which I also obviously loved. (How could you not?)

Johnny Depp will probably get an Oscar nomination for this. Maybe not, who knows, I thought he was great, but then, he always is, apparently. I do know that there are a couple of scenes in the movie in which he appears to have become younger, which is kind of in keeping with the film, and I am not quite sure how he does it.

The film also deals heavily with loss, and for some reason, out of the blue, really, because this is something I have not thought about in years: When I was a little kid, there were these kids named Mark and Lisa Grabb who went to the same church and Sunday school as my sister and I. Mark was my age, and Lisa was 2 years younger. We didn’t go to the same regular school, though, because we lived in different parts of town: They went to Moulton, and we went to Main Street.

Anyway, when Mark and Lisa were, like 6 and 4, or 7 and 5, or maybe 8 and 6, their mom died of cancer. My mom told me she thinks it was breast cancer; I don’t know, whichever kind of cancer it was, the unthinkable had happened to these 2 kids, and suddenly their mom was gone.

I remember hearing that Emmie Grabb had died, and then, that Sunday, Mark and Lisa had come to church with their dad, and the kids were crying, quietly, huddled next to their dad during the entire service. And then their dad took them to Sunday school and stayed in the classroom with them the whole time.