Depp in Venice for Finding Neverland

Johnny Depp swooped into Venice yesterday on a wave of Oscar optimism for his portrayal of Peter Pan's creator J.M. Barrie in the fantastical new film Finding Neverland.

Marc Forster's feature, which premiered yesterday at the Venice Film Festival, may be the second Peter Pan film in as many years, but it's a fresh take on the timeless tale.

The director of critically acclaimed Monster's Ball delves into the friendship between J.M. Barrie and a widowed mother whose children inspired the author to write about a boy who refuses to grow up.

Set in turn-of-the-century London, English gardens turn into forests full of cowboys, Indians and pirate ships where Barrie relives his lost youth in the company of the widow's four sons and "imagines life as he wants it to be".

The film is based on Allan Knee's play The Man Who Was Peter Pan and stars Kate Winslet as the overwhelmed widow.

Finding Neverland was warmly received at a preview screening for critics, where the film's tragic turn of events had film audiences blowing into handkerchiefs. Winslet said even she cried the first time she saw it.