I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this movie before, which makes sense, because I absolutely love it. C.S. Lewis happens to be on my short-list of favorite writers of all time, and so any biopic about him is at least going to grab my attention. However, I had a rather difficult time finding a way to watch it when I originally attempted to, years ago. It’s seemingly flown under the radar since its release, when it received wide-spread acclaim and award nominations, but I had never even heard of the movie until I was going through a phase where I wanted to watch not only every Academy Award Best Picture nominee, but nominees for several other categories as well. I have since come to my senses and believe the Academy Awards are about as valuable to cinema as your child’s graduation certificate for Kindergarten is to your friends. But thank goodness for a time when I felt differently, because it made me hunt down this 1993 Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay nominee.

Anthony Hopkins portrays C.S. Lewis in this film that focuses specifically on his relationship with Joy Davidman Gresham (who is played by Debra Winger from An Officer and a Gentleman and Terms of Endearment). C.S. Lewis was a bachelor until he was 47 years old, and he originally suspected he’d be one for his entire life because of an intolerance for cooties. But then, he met Joy. And he developed a friendship with Joy through their mutual intelligence and wide range of interests. And he was surprised by Joy because of her sharp wit and his developing affection for her. And he wished to show her charity by marrying her in a legal sense so she could remain in England instead of return to America and her abusive husband. Let’s see, that’s three of the…well, he had the eros kind of love for her too, but the movie is rated PG, so we don’t get to see any of that. Anyway, Joy is diagnosed with bone cancer and grows considerably weaker over the next few weeks. With the realization that he will soon lose her, Lewis is overcome and decides he doesn’t want just a legal marriage, but a Christian one…oh yeah, there’s the eros. They marry, and Lewis takes care of her until she withers away, leaving behind a son, Douglas, who Lewis continues to raise as his own.

This film, which adapted a stage play, which adapted a television film, which adapted the real story, is one of the most heart-wrenching romances out there. It’s so genuine in its portrayal of its subjects and treats this odd love story with the reverence it deserves. Both Lewis and Gresham were complicated people and so it makes sense that their courtship would be just as complicated. But, then again, all four loves can be complicated, can’t they? And the movie knows its subject so well and treats it so tenderly, that we can overlook the occasional fabrication of real events. For instance, Joy actually had two children, Douglas and David, but you don’t miss David in the movie. There’s also the slight detail that they vacationed in Greece before Joy’s passing, but in the movie, they sentimentally search for the inspiration of a landscape painting in Lewis’ office. It’s for the sake of sweet storytelling, and so all is forgiven.

Anthony Hopkins is an odd choice for Lewis, partially because he looks nothing like him, but also because he was still riding the wave of Hannibal Lecter from two years earlier. Hopkins does great, though, convincingly quoting Lewis in lectures and discussions. Debra Winger plays Joy with all the duality and conflict capable of a human. She shines as a woman that can go blow-for-blow with a “thinking” man, and, if you’ve seen Terms of Endearment, you already knew she was good and playing dying women. Spoilers, I guess. Also, Joseph Mazzello does an excellent job as Joy’s son, Douglas, who must grapple with what is happening to his mother. If you watch Shadowlands, you’ll see him and think, “Hey! It’s the kid from Jurassic Park!” But let me assure you, he does more than scream in this one. Speaking of Jurassic Park, Shadowlands was directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, who played Mazzello’s grandfather and creator of Jurassic Park, John Hammond (after working with Mazzello on Jurassic Park, he just had to get him on Shadowlands; he spared no expense). As an actor, Attenborough has an extensive filmography, including Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, The Flight of the Phoenix, Doctor Doolittle, And Then There Were None, Miracle on 34th Street, and Elizabeth, but as a director, I think you’ll find his best work: A Bridge Too Far, Gandhi, Cry Freedom, and Chaplin. Also, just a random bit of trivia, but his younger brother is David Attenborough. You’ll know David’s voice if you’ve ever seen any of the BBC Earth documentaries, such as Planet Earth.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis, or a lover of quirky love stories that don’t involve angsty teenagers, or you want to at least tear up, Shadowlands is the movie for you.

Bonus Review: Finding Neverland

For this bonus review, we’re going to look at another biopic about a famous author with two initials and a last name, who fell in love with a family, that’s based on a play, and involves a final scene where the author comforts the son of a dead mother. Finding Neverland is about J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp), the creator of the original Peter Pan play. However, at first, he seems to be unsuccessful at his work. But when he meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four sons, he develops a friendship with the family, acting as a second father to the boys and a close-but-platonic friend to Sylvia. His time spent pretending with the boys becomes the basis for Peter Pan. A producer, Charles Frohman (Dustin Hoffman), agrees to help Barrie make Peter Pan a reality, though he does not believe it will sell. Barrie decides to bring in some children from a nearby orphanage to sit throughout the theatre for the premiere. Their laughter is infectious to the other patrons and Peter Pan becomes an immediate success. Sylvia is unable to make the premiere because of an illness, and she soon dies. In her will, she requests that her mother and Barrie both raise her children.

Finding Neverland is basically Shadowlands without the Christian stuff in the background. It’s just as much a sentimental tearjerker, though, and I think makes a great companion film. Depp does some of his best work when he’s not covered in makeup or dreadlocks. Peter Pan, which I mostly know because of Walt Disney, is one of my favorite stories, so I easily gravitate towards a film about its creation. Again, you have to be in the mood to at least cry a little, but Finding Neverland is worthy of anyone’s time and tears.