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List Price: $14.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 13591
Released: July 3, 2007 |
| Our Price: $7.40 |
| Used Price: $1.49 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Weaving together fantasy and reality, past and present, Neverwas is the enchantment-filled, life-affirming tale about a young man (Aaron Eckhart) who finds out his childhood fantasyland may really exist. Searching for insight into his father’s (Nick Nolte) life and the magical place he wrote about in the beloved children’s book, Neverwas, psychiatrist Zach Riley (Eckhart) takes a job at the institution where he lived on and off. Once there, Zach meets Gabriel (Sir Ian McKellen), a patient whose alternate reality is startlingly close to the world his father created. Featuring a critically acclaimed all-star cast that also includes William Hurt, Jessica Lange and Brittany Murphy, Neverwas is a magical and moving journey of discovery you won’t soon forget.
Description of Neverwas:
A stellar cast buoys Neverwas, a 2005 feature written and directed by Joshua Michael Stern. And what a lineup it is. Aaron Eckhart stars as Zach, a psychiatrist who abandons his cushy gig at Cornell in order to work at a funky, underfunded New England institution run by Dr. Peter Reed (an underused William Hurt), where his own father (Nick Nolte, seen in various flashbacks), who wrote the wildly popular children's book named in the title but was also a manic depressive, was briefly ensconced before killing himself, leaving his young son burdened with the grim memory of finding the body. Ian McKellen is Gabriel, a patient at the nuthouse in question who knows a good deal more about Zach's dad than Zach does; Jessica Lange is his boozy, annoying mother; Brittany Murphy is his love interest; and other patients include Michael Moriarty, The Departed's Vera Farmiga, and Bill Bellamy. Their respective agents must have had a field day determining the billing order, but Neverwas, which bears a passing resemblance to Finding Neverland and The Fisher King, doesn't seem to know what kind of picture it wants to be. It's not family fare, as themes like suicide and mental illness are too dark and complex for kids. It's not a romance, nor is it a fantasy, a father-son drama, or an adventure. Not that it doesn't have its strong points: McKellen lights up the screen every time he appears on it, the cinematography is often quite lovely, and the overall notion of life and art as a circular form, as in Zach's having to figure out how he fit into both his dad's book (the hero is a boy named Zachary) and his real life, is intriguing. On balance, however, Neverwas is a whole that is disappointingly less than the sum of its parts. --Sam Graham
Neverwas Reviews:
A Tale Told By a Madman 
2009-05-14 - This is one of those movies that barely appeared and promptly vanished in spite of a cast of excellent actors and a so-so premise beautifully worked out. Note that I said actors, not stars. A handful of less than stellar initial reviews probably also torpedoed the production upon release, which is a pity: god knows that far, far worse productions endure a much more scathing reception, and yet endure, spread all over the movie-publicity complex and your neighborhood Cineplex for months.
Aaron Eckhard plays Zack, a successful psychiatrist who is haunted by the suicide death of his troubled father when he was a small boy. His father, (Nick Nolte, seen in flashbacks or vintage film and home movie footage) was the writer of a fabulously successful childrens' classic about a wonderful magical land called "Neverwas" which he wrote for his son, making him the hero-adventurer. As an adult, Zack takes a job at the mental hospital where his father was confined for a brief period, hoping to find out why his father killed himself. Was it a failure of his doctor, of the hospital itself? It is hinted that Zack became a psychiatrist as a way of trying to fix that which was broken, in his father, and in himself, and others.
The clinic is a gorgeous but dilapidated, neo-classical building, near a perfect small New England town; the whole country around the clinic and town is a wildly scenic rural area spangled with fall colors. The whole look of the place is stunningly beautiful, barely and believably a half-step from the enchanted world that Zack's father created a quarter century before. He meets up with a childhood pal, Ally (Brittany Murphy) who seems to have never quite outgrown her own longing to visit "Neverwas", or her own attraction towards Zack. Among his patients in the hospital is the schizophrenic Gabriel Finch, played by the magnificent Ian McKellon. Gradually, Zack realized, as Gabriel opens up to him, that Gabriel and his father were friends... and that Gabriel thinks himself as the imprisoned King of "Neverwas".
"Neverwas" is in fact as much Gabriel's creation as it was his fathers... and it is as real to him as the forests beyond the boundaries of the hospital. The rest of the story is concerned with how Zack comes to terms with death, guilt, responsibility and the knowledge that sometimes there is nothing you can do, to help the ones you love... and sometimes you can. Ally lets go of her own childish dependence on the enchanted world... although they both do briefly set foot in it. The sequence towards the end of the movie, where she and Zack follow Gabriel into the woods, is beautifully done. With a growing sense of wonder, they identify many of the magical landmarks and seem almost on the verge actually stepping into the mythical "Neverwas"... but as it is subtly conveyed, they are still in the very real world. Only Gabriel, the schizophrenic can live in the world that he has created and maintained in his own mind for most of his life.
This is not a movie for children, although it may appear at first glance to resemble such fare as "The Bridge to Terabithia". It is more suited for teenagers and adults. While not one of those great unsung movies, it is still better worth the time than many other movie offerings taking up DVD shelf space, just for McKellen's star turn alone.
NEVERWAS IS! 
2009-04-20 - A movie with a developing plot that unfolds in its own time, Likable characters, a few interesting twists and turns, almost a child's story, but very much adult. Worth a watch.
Pleasant weekend movie
2009-03-21 - Watch the whole thing! Nothing frustrates me more than people who give bad reviews based on the first 30-45 minutes of a movie. It's sometimes slow, not much time in the fairytale itself, but it's an enjoyable movie with a wonderful cast. I absolutely loved the end. By that time, if you allow it, you absolutely believe in Neverwas!
For Journalers and Altered Artists! 
2009-03-19 - If you love to journal and altered things, then this is a very cool movie! I loved the whole theme of the movie but the visuals were especially cool. So much so, that I purchased a copy of the movie to watch over and over again.
Perfect
2008-12-14 - My family and I chose to watch this movie with no prior knowledge of it, we just thought we'd give it a try. And now, I have to say I'm appalled that I hadn't heard of Neverwas before then. It's a beautiful movie, with an incredible cast and a fabulous story, and not to mention visually stunning as well.
To briefly outline the beginning, a psychologist(Aaron Eckhart) returns to the town he grew up in, and starts working at an asylum of sorts where his father had spent time. His father was an exceptionally famous children's fantasy author, and soon it becomes unclear whether the story he wrote was merely a story or if somehow there's more to it. I'd say more, but part of the magic of this film is being surprised.
Neverwas is a happy movie without being insipid, and whimsical without being unbelievable or over done. It's perfect, in my opinion. You couldn't ask for a film with more imagination, and I think anyone would be delighted by it. I could not have enjoyed it more if I tried!
