An original and engrossing take on the Peter Pan legend.
I may be in the minority as most critics and audiences seem to be underwhelmed by this movie, but I loved Wendy. I was completely engrossed in the dark and mysterious fantasy world it presented, so different from any other film version of Peter Pan. This movies not only doesn't shy away from the dark side of the classic legend, but delves into it. The thought of not growing up is lovely and many of us wish the magic of childhood could last forever. Yet this idea sounds better than the harsh reality it would present. To suppress healthy feelings in favor of more simplistic ones. We can't live our lives denying and suppressing every dark thought we have or we can not be fully human. This film's version of Peter can almost seem delusional in his refusal to grow up and this leads to some of the movie's darkest and most powerful moments. Yet in his outward adventurousness there is an appeal to the inward child to all of us. Wendy speaks of a voice that says "sneak away." In Peter we see a clear call to adventure. Yet this movie has more depth than to simply tell us we have to grow up. Much of this movie reminded me of the final words of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, "Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days." This is also the same message this film tries to send that we can grow up but not completely let go of the magic and joy of childhood. As a kid at heart this is a message I try to live every day, in that I try to balance being a responsible adult, with childlike joy and excitement. This is shown perfectly in the movie's fantastic balance between dark realism and pure childlike fantasy.
One thing that all those who disagree with me about this movie still liked was how visually beautiful it was. This movie is a joy to look at from beginning to end. Also making this film work so well is Devin France's wonderful performance as the title character. She plays this role to perfection capturing both all the little subtle nuances as the character and the more broad childlike joy.
I would say that this is a must see movie, but few seem to agree with me on that. So I guess all I can say is that I absolutely loved this film, because it moved something deep down inside of me.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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