MARC Forster's follow-up to the Oscar-winning Monster's Ball is a spellbinding account of creative genius and doomed love, adapted from Allan Knee's stage play The Man Who Was Peter Pan.

When his new play, The Admirable Crichton, fails to woo audiences on its opening night in 1902, writer JM Barrie (Depp) surrenders to self-doubt.

Long walks around leafy Kensington Gardens with his trusty dog Porthos fail to lift his spirits, while soothing words from his long neglected wife Mary (Mitchell) and ever devoted producer Charles Frohman (Hoffman) also fall on deaf ears.

During one of his afternoon strolls, Barrie chances upon young widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Winslet) enjoying a picnic with her four sons.

Three of the boys - Michael (Spill), Jack (Prospero) and George (Roud) - seem delighted to make Barrie's acquaintance.

Unfortunately, melancholic Peter (Highmore) seems far more reluctant to join in the reverie, clearly still deeply in grief over the death of his father.

At Sylvia's invitation, Barrie becomes a regular visitor to the Llewelyn Davies family home, to the consternation of Sylvia's mother (Christie), who fears what local gossips will make of her daughter's burgeoning relationship with a married man.

Meanwhile, the boys become firm friends with Barrie and, with the exception of Peter, they adopt the writer as a surrogate father, thrilling to his fantastical tales of pirates and castaways, cowboys and Indians.

In time, Peter also rediscovers his sense of childhood wonder in these flights of fantasy, which inspires Barrie to immortalise the family in an adventure about a boy who never grew up.

Finding Neverland is a strong contender to sweep the board at next year's Academy Awards.

Every element of the film, from Forster's assured direction and David Magee's elegant screenplay to the stellar cast and sumptuous production design, is of the very highest calibre.

Depp forgoes his more eccentric, show-stealing performances of late in favour of a quietly intense portrayal of tortured genius.

Winslet is radiant as a mother desperate to protect her brood from the harsh realities of life and she sparks a pleasing screen chemistry with Depp.

Highmore is nothing short of sensational as the boy clinging desperately to the memory of his late father.

You'll be choking back tears when he finally breaks down and lets Barrie into his life.

The supporting cast is wonderful and the recreation of the very first staging of Peter Pan is a rousing triumph.

Do you believe in fairies? I do.

DAMON SMITH