Starring William Hurt, Ian McKellen, Nick Nolte, Aaron Eckhart, Brittany Murphy, Jessica Lange
Written By: Joshua Michael Stern
Directed By: Joshua Michael Stern
Studio: Miramax
Buy on Amazon.com
Neverwas is a film I’d never heard of, prior to receiving the DVD for review, and with good reason. Seems it was actually filmed back in 2005 but never received a theatrical release and has only now been released on DVD. That’s a shame, too, because it’s a rather wonderful movie with an amazing cast and a beautiful look.
I suppose part of the problem would have been in the marketing Neverwas doesn’t really fit into any particular genre, and I believe it would have been marketed as a fantasy film, when it really isn’t. It’s sort of a character drama, and a psychological drama, with fantasy elements and a blooming romance thrown in for good measure. The story revolves around Zach, a psychiatrist played by Aaron Eckhart, whose father (Nick Nolte) wrote a popular children’s fantasy adventure book called Neverwas before committing suicide. The film begins with Zach taking up a job at the institution where his father had been interred prior to death, where he meets Gabriel (Ian McKellen), a patient who believes he is the king of Neverwas, and becomes involved with a long-lost childhood friend (Brittany Murphy).
The film explores Zach’s attempts to come to terms with his father’s life and death, while attempting to help Gabriel come to terms with his own issues. It’s an amazingly well-acted movie, and also absolutely beautiful to look at. It takes place in the fall, and the entire movie is drenched with autumn colors reds, golds, yellows, browns. It’s breathtaking, really. The movie is further enhanced by a nice low-key piano-based score that perfectly accentuates the joys and dramas presented on screen.
There are a few minor quibbles I have. For one, as mentioned above, it probably would have been advertised as a fantasy movie, and the DVD case certainly makes it sound like one. But it really isn’t, so don’t go in expecting one. Also, there are a few characters and elements that are presented in a way to make them seem important, when they actually don’t really go anywhere. Zach’s mother is given a fairly prominent role though she doesn’t really do much. There’s also another of Zach’s patients, played by Alan Cumming, who has a few big scenes that don’t go anywhere and his story arc isn’t exactly resolved.
But these are minor quibbles, as I said. It’s an absolutely lovely movie, dramatic but low key and, on the whole, quite touching and even uplifting in its own strange way. And as a side note, I’m kind of surprised that this movie is rated PG-13. There’s no swearing, no violence, no sex it’s almost completely harmless, unless you consider the somewhat oversaturated and obscured flashbacks of Zach’s father’s feet after he hung himself, but I’ve seen worse than that in TV shows marketed towards children *cough*Dinosaurs*cough*
Features:
Sneak peeks
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color
Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French
Favorite Scenes: Pretty much the whole thing, actually. Nothing really stood out above the rest.
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 108 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: