Pan

Don't read this post if you wish to preserve your sense of child-like wonder!

So, tonight Mr. Surly and I wanted a little vacation from life and decided to rent Finding Neverland. (Excellent flick, by the by.)

In case you're wondering, the film focuses on the live of J.M. Barrie and his relationship with the Llewelyn-Davies family, the inspiration for his most famous work, Peter Pan.

WARNING: Spoilers a plenty coming up. Really. I'm warning you. If you care to be surprised step away from the damn computer.

I'll give you a minute.

OK. Are you gone yet?

Really. Don't be kicking my ass if you want to be surprised by this movie.

Good.

OK.

In the end: The already-fatherless children's mother dies. (How uplifting!) However, Mr. Barrie is named co-parent in the will and the children (seemingly) live happily ever after. Yay!

Charmed by the delightful tale and eager for more information, I turned to the trusted Wikipedia.

Bad idea.

Let me give you a few of the strange and/or wildly depressing highlights:

- Most biographers think Barrie was asexual. (I'm pleased to hear he wasn't channeling Michael Jackson.)

- Peter Llewelyn-Davies (aka "Peter Pan") referred to the work as "that terrible masterpiece" and grew to loathe his pseudo-celebrity.

- When Barrie passed away, he gave his fortune to a local hospital, rather than the Llewelyn-Davies boys -- his adopted children! Some speculated that this drove Peter to drink.

- Peter committed suicide in 1960...by throwing himself in front of a train.

- Michael Llewelyn-Davies died at age 21 from a mysterious drowning incident. His hands were found tied to those of his best friend, Rupert Buxton, leading many to think the drowning related to a suicide pact.

I haaaaad to go searching for the truth.

Crap. 

Comments

[amelie]

i did the same thing with this movie. i found out the same things you did -- and when barrie met the family, the father was still alive and didn't appreciate interference with his family...