Based upon the story of J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp), the creator of "Peter Pan," this film captures the essence of how the story came to be. The challenges of adult life inspire Barrie to write a new play, which heralds the perpetual childlike innocence of a boy who never grows up.

Successful Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie is less than enthusiastic as he watches his latest play set in 1903 London debut to a ho-hum reaction by polite society. Soon after, during one of his daily walks in Kensington Gardens, Barrie unexpectedly meets recent widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four boys. He is attracted to Sylvia as well as the world of make believe that he creates for her boys, involving various disguises, childhood games, and even kite flying. The relationship manages to grow in spite of the jealousy of his wife Mary (Radha Mitchell of "Phone Booth") and the boys’ grandmother Emma du Maurier (a luminous Julie Christie). Mary believes its inappropriate for Barrie to spend so much time with a widow and her children, who additionally subsist in a lower class than they do. Emma sees Barrie as an opportunist who brings unnecessary conflict into their family. At a minimum, while the young boys are still in heavy grieving of their father, having a potential suitor for their mother is a big no-no.

Kate Winslet is known for her sexually attractive roles. That is true here but things go in an unexpected direction when she becomes seriously ill. Barrie convinces his loyal producer Charles Frohman (Dustin Hoffman) to present his stage play about the whimsical character Peter Pan, who refuses to grow up. Certainly, audiences 100 years ago were awed by actors flying across the stage, some clothed in animal print costumes, defying the norm for a play.

In the recent movie "My Life Without Me" with Sarah Polley, a young mother makes a difficult choice in how to deal with illness, and here Winslet takes a similar stand. We don’t know what inspired the story with Polley but in this movie, the events are motivated by what actually occurred. There is sadness in the film, just like there is in real life. One of the wonders of the human spirit is the ability to find great joy in one’s darkest days. The play "Peter Pan" opened on December 27, 1904, almost 100 years ago to an enthusiastic reception. Even in our "seen it all, been there done that world," this story still has plenty of vitality, to explore the creative writing process.

For Johnny Depp fans, this is a must see movie. Although the list of worthy male actors for an Oscar is quite long this year, we would not be surprised to see a nomination for Depp. He is able to deliver a powerful performance, that shows creative genius, humanity and frailty without acting gymnastics (a.k.a., Kevin Spacey, Nicolas Cage). Three time Oscar nominee Kate Winslet is very good in this film but if she gets another nod this year, it will likely be for the Jim Carrey film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Freddie Highmore, as the reticent young Peter delivers an emotional, throat tightening performance, which makes for a powerful ending to the film. We expect this to be in the top 10 list of a number of movie critics this year.