Finding the protagonist

Finding Neverland was an absolutely beautiful film. That I'll likely never watch a second time. Why?

Looking back on it, it feels slight, and slow. The problem? None of the characters except Peter, the child, feels like they have any meat on their bones. They're not characters I feel the need to go a second round with. This is because the film posits J.M. Barrie as the hero of the show, and he's not-- he's just a playwright who needs to write a good play. He doesn't have to change, he doesn't have to grow, and worst of all, he doesn't truly suffer. He just looks sort of uncomfortable at times. The worst that happens to him? Kate Winslet's mother's mean to him, and so's his wife. Compare that to Peter's world-- his father's dead and his mother's dying, and he's growing up way too fast and the magic has all but gone from his life-- and you can see where the real heart of the story is. Peter should've been the protagonist, here. That, or the spine of the film should've been Barrie working at Peter the whole way through... Peter being his biggest challenge ever. Neither is true, and we're left with a protagonist who wanders prettily but softly through his own story.

Just because he's the famous one doesn't mean he has to be the hero! Look at Amadeus as an example. Or Quills.