Neverwas (2005)

Directed by: Joshua Michael Stern | 108 minutes | drama, fantasy | Actors: Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen, William Hurt, Nick Nolte, Brittany Murphy, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Michael Moriarty, Vera Farmiga, Bill Bellamy, Ken Roberts, Ryan Drescher, Cynthia Stevenson, Mark Tisdale

Don’t be surprised if a movie is made about JK Rowling, author of the sorcerer’s apprentice Harry Potter books, in the near future. Children’s book authors are a rewarding subject for film makers. Either fictional (Tim Burton’s fantastic movie ‘Big Fish’) or based on true events (‘Finding Neverland’ starring Johnny Depp as JM Barrie, author of ‘Peter Pan’). Joshua Michael Stern was also inspired by the fantasy world of a children’s author. This TL Pierson didn’t really exist and the book ‘Neverwas’ doesn’t exist either. But it could all be true. And that is precisely what forms the basis of the quest of the main character, the son of the writer.

Psychiatrist Zach Riley (Aaron Eckhart, ‘Thank You for Smoking’, ‘The Black Dahlia’), says goodbye to his academic career to work at the Millwood Clinic, the institution where his father TL Pierson (Nick Nolte) – author of the acclaimed children’s book ‘Neverwas’ – twenty-five years ago during the difficult periods in his life. In 1979, the manic-depressive Pierson finally committed suicide and it was little Zach who found him. At the clinic, Zach meets a schizophrenic older man named Gabriel Finch (Ian McKellen), who believes he is a character from “Neverwas” and that the fantasy world Pierson has created is real. In his desire to understand both the book and this strange man, Zach becomes obsessed with his father in the last years of his life. With the help of Gabriel and a childhood friend (Brittany Murphy), he slowly discovers the secrets of ‘Neverwas’ and his own role in the fantasy world his father created.

Debut director Joshua Michael Stern, who also wrote the script for the film, managed to gather an impressive cast. In addition to Eckhart, Nolte, McKellen and Murphy, William Hurt, Jessica Lange and Alan Cumming are also present. But ‘Neverwas’ proves that just a list of impressive names is no guarantee that the film is convincing. It seems that most actors do not want to put too much effort into their role. Nolte and Lange basically play roles they always play. We now know Nolte as the tormented soul, the alcohol and drug addicted loner. And Lange as Zach’s affectionate, unstable, and denying mother isn’t in the picture often, but enough to see it’s caricatured. We are certainly more used to her. William Hurt (as Millwood’s supervisor) gets far too little playing time to present himself as a real character and so does Cumming (who can only live out as a psychiatric patient for a short time).

That leaves the protagonists Eckhart and McKellen. Eckhart is clearly doing his best and perhaps trying too hard to convince. He wants to know more about his father’s life because he feels guilty about seeing him die. It was also he who found his father after he hanged himself. Despite this depth in his character, Eckharts Zack remains a distant person with whom it is difficult to empathize. McKellen is in his element as the otherworldly Gabriel, a mysterious and magical figure who is the most intriguing of all characters. Finally, Brittany Murphy does a nice job as Maggie, but no more than that. She relies on her physical charm and gives her character nothing else.

But even with actors who are not all equally convincing, it is still possible to make a decent film. It’s just a shame the script isn’t cooperating with this. The principle is interesting, of course, but it’s all been done before – and better – in films like ‘Big Fish’ and ‘Finding Neverland’. The elaboration of ‘Neverwas’ falls short and that is mainly due to some disturbing plot holes. The film has a hard time getting started and has a few boring moments halfway through. The blossoming romance between Zach and Maggie is unnecessary. But it seems like every Hollywood movie is bound to have a love plot, distracting the viewer from what the movie is really about.

Nevertheless, considering that it’s a debut film, ‘Neverwas’ isn’t bad at all. And that’s largely due to Michael Grady’s beautiful, stylish cinematography. The sparkling, autumnal colors give the film an impressive, warm appearance and the magical and dreamy fantasy shots of the realm ‘Neverwas’ help you as a viewer to get through the duller moments. The narrative structure, which regularly uses flashbacks, also gives the film a bit more cachet. So although the film is quite disappointing given the impressive cast; for anyone who believes in fairy tales, the sympathetic ‘Neverwas’ is well worth a look.