I have always been a fan of Peter Pan. When I was a graduate student living in Kensington (London) in the mid-1990s, I made a literary pilgrimage one Sunday to pay homage to the boy who never grew up and the places that inspired the geography and magic of Neverland.

I walked first to Kensington Gardens and then to nearby Hyde Park and the Serpentine to see the island of the lost boys and finally to the wistful statue of Peter Pan (and fairies) that Sir James Matthew Barrie donated in 1912. What a delightful afternoon it was; there were families with children everywhere. The statue and the setting evoke any and all of the renditions of Barrie's story and play about the boy Peter Pan.

Now, the story of Barrie's creation has come to the big screen in an entertaining new film, "Finding Neverland."

Creating Peter Pan
"Finding Neverland" is based on a year in the life of Sir J.M. Barrie (played by (Johnny Depp) from the demise of his play "Little Mary" in 1903 up until the time the play "Peter Pan" was first staged in 1904. The Davies family really existed and the characters in "Peter Pan" were certainly inspired by the boys and their mother. (Barrie loved children and donated all the royalties for "Peter Pan" to a children's hospital in London.)

After one of Barrie's plays fails in London in 1903, he takes his Newfoundland dog and goes to Kensington Gardens to write a new one, where he meets the Llewellyn Davies family, four young boys and their widowed mother Sylvia (Kate Winslett). All the boys like James except Peter (Freddie Highmore), who still misses his deceased father.

Barrie starts to visit their home, and meets them in the park to play and act out stories. He presents Peter with a journal so that he can use his own imagination and write stories, too. He does, and presents a play about St. Ursula to James and Sylvia.

Because Barrie is married, rumors circulate that his interest in Mrs. Davies is inappropriate, as are his attentions to the boys. James, genuinely surprised by these accusations, says they are only friends. Sylvia's mother Emma (Julie Christie) disapproves of James as does Mary, James' wife. In fact, their marriage is already strained, and Mary starts seeing another man.

All the while, James is writing a new play about a boy who never wants to grow up and who lives in Neverland.

Fact or fiction?
The film runs pretty close to the facts --- even when Barrie tells Sylvia about the death of his brother and how their mother hid away in her bedroom for months. Thus, Barrie always had "mothering" issues (see his brief, moving biography, "Margaret Ogilvie"). The film evokes this pathos and explains the haunting loneliness that surrounds Barrie.

James Barrie did become the boys' guardian after their mother died (there were really five boys, not four), but he actually met the Davies when the father was still living (Mr. Davies, who died three years before his wife, did not much approve of Barrie's friendship with the family, either; I think the grandmother in the film/play may stand in for Mr. Davies in the interest of time).

Two of the boys died while young men, and Peter, a publisher, unfortunately took his own life in 1960. Most accounts say it is because Barrie, even though he cared for the boys and sent them all to Eton (the school Princes William and Harry attended), had cut them out of his will. No one seems to know why. The boys always consistently denied all rumors of inappropriate behavior on the part of Barrie.

Barrie, who was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland in 1860, was knighted, became a university rector and was close friends with Sir Conan Doyle and other literati of his times. He died in 1937.

Death and loneliness
The film --- based on the play by Allan Knee and directed by Marc Forster --- is greatly entertaining and does have some serious themes such as death, grief, marital problems, loneliness, and that growing up means to care for others besides oneself. It is well-written, directed and "staged."

Johnny Depp plays J. M. Barrie so credibly that you forget he was that eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow only last year in "Pirates of the Caribbean." What stands out about Depp is that he is the person he portrays, unlike many actors who just play themselves in different movies. I had a film teacher who said that the reason the fine actor Paul Muni, who won an Oscar in 1935 for "The Life of Louis Pasteur," is almost forgotten today is because he disappeared into his roles so much that people didn't recognize him from film to film. I think Depp does the same thing, but there's no way you can forget him. He really can act.

Keep an eye on Freddie Highmore as Peter, who will be seen next, also with Depp, in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Highmore gives an outstanding and consistent performance in "Finding Neverland," well beyond the expectations of such a young child actor.

If you love creativity, (especially if you are a writer who gets writer's block), and have an imagination that believes in fairies, you will enjoy "Finding Neverland" very much. Just remember to bring a hankie.

Daughter of St. Paul Sister Rose Pacatte is director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Culver City, and co-author of the "Lights, Camera…Faith!" movie Lectionary series.