List Price: $29.99You Pay Only: $26.99 You Save: $3.00 (10%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
EAN: 0786936737110
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Miramax
Manufacturer: Miramax
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Miramax
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 03, 2007
Running Time: 108 minutes
Sales Rank: 19776
Studio: Miramax
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
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Editorial Review:
Description:
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.
Amazon.com:
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Despite mixed reviews...
...I decided to give this movie a chance. The most common complaint I read about this movie is that it never sticks to one genre. I must be the odd woman out, because I thought this worked well for Neverwas. If it had only been a movie about mental illness, it would have been too depressing. If it had only been about the fairy tale, it wouldn't have been as meaningful. My advice is to let the movie be what it is. It is a mix of romance, father-son bonding, mental illness, mystery, and fantasy. The always superb Aaron Eckhart carries the movie very well, and he is supported with excellent performances by William Hurt, Brittany Murphy, and Ian McKellan. I am glad that I gave this movie a chance, and I feel that the $5 I paid for it was money well spent.
Rating:  - Murphy's Romance
Farfetched isn't the word for it, but Brittany Murphy is farfetched to a T as an ace reporter from Aaron Eckhart's past who gets the old spark glowing again now that they aren't dipping each other's braids in the inkwells. Poor Brittany, reduced to this "girlfriend" part that suddenly morphs into the "crack journalist" part in which the journalist finds herself compromised by her relationship to the "victim." (See ABSENCE OF MALICE.)
The movie revels in big reveal scenes and Aaron Eckhart gets to sneak into Brittany Murphy's room and find out her secret, the way that hardened FBI investigators break down an attic door and exclaim "Oh my God" to each other merely because the tenant has plastered his walls from top to ceiling with newspaper clippings. If they could see my apartment, maybe they'd understand! Sometimes you just need another coat of something up on your walls to keep in the heat, and old clippings of heinous crimes are just as good as new paint.
In Aaron's case, he's cute as a button both as a boy and man. The cinematography literally gilds his blonde hair into a helmet of light that's scary to look at, like a Ken doll on fire. William Hurt as the head of the hospital looks at him in disgust, wondering what happened to his own good looks that were so well used in BODY HEAT and that one with Sigourney Weaver where he, Hurt, was an idiot savant janitor and she a crack journalist in the Brittany Murphy mode. The acting in the movie is wretched from top to ... Read More
Rating: - Definitely worth watching
A good way to spend a couple of hours (108 minutes to be exact). The cast is definitely a who's who of actors, but thankfully, they don't jump all over each other. I thought the acting was, for the most part, subtle and thoughtful. Ian McKellan was stunning in every scene, but I think you will find a lot of substance in Nick Nolte's performance as well!! The juxtaposition of reality, fiction, and delusion was fascinating and was displayed as well as could be in this medium.
While the movie has some similarities to others, they are small enough not to distract... The story leaves us with some positive ideas about uncomfortable subjects and just maybe stretches our own boundaries of acceptance.
If you like to challenge yourself while being entertained and see some great acting at the same time, I definitely recommend.
All the best,
Jay
Rating: - Elizabeth Essenfeld Says
Elizabeth Essenfeld this movie is the blend of fantasy and thriller. The tagline of "one man's insanity is another man's children's book' is accurate description of the story plit. With twists and turns and surpsring ending, the movie is satisfying until the very last moment. Brittney Murphy steps out of her usual 'cutesy' bubble and plays a somewhat more grounded adult role. All in all, an enjoyable movie.
Rating: - A Surprising Little Movie You really ought to see.
I didn't have great expectations for this movie because I expected it to take a really dark turn at some point, but I watched it for Aaron Eckhart. He was as charming as always, but the story is the star of this movie. With the exception of the handling of the romantic subplot, the director managed to create a fairy tale for adults that held a bit of suspense and a lot of good feelings at the end.
I fault the writers for a clumsy and unnecessary twist between the protagonist and his childhood friend turned love interest. The rest of the story was so satisfying, I can't believe they fell back on such a cliché.
Ian McKellen was as good as he's ever been as the King of Neverwas, and that wasn't an easy part to play. That character could easily have been too creepy or scary to engage the audience, but he managed to walk the line just so you wanted him not to get hurt, no matter how out of touch with reality he was. As with any good fairy tale, there are moments of genuine suspense that manage to lead to an end that made me glad that I took the time to check it out.
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