Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Directed by: Alfonso
Cuaron
Starring: Starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter),
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley),
Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), David
Thewlis (Professor Lupin), Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney)
Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid) and so on.
Review by : Li Rapkin
In case you've been under a rock since the mid-1990s, you
already know that this is the movie based on the third Harry
Potter book. And this time, it's much more ""based on" the
book than a strict translation of the book to film. Fortunately,
this is a good thing. All the major plot points are accomplished,
and we're going to have to get used to parts of the books
being left out of the movies, or #4 and #5 will be mini-series
length.
Many photons
have already been spilled on the subject of how and why the
movie's darker than Sorcerer's Stone or Chamber of Secrets,
so I'll skip that bit. Read the books; you'll get it. Likewise
with the series/franchise aging along with the characters.
(Hello! Logic!) One topic I haven't seen discussed nearly
as much is the shift of emphasis on the adults in the cast.
We see rather less of Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonnegal, and
a good bit of this year's Defense Against Dark Arts teacher,
Professor Lupin. I was very happy with David Thewlis's performance
as one of those teachers who obviously cares about the students
personally, as well as professionally.
Another
change that I heartily approve of is the change of directors.
I suspect that many, many memos were sent out about doing
things right. For example, Dorothea
kindly pointed out to me, the Hogwarts grounds in Azkaban
have much more visual interest than in its predecessors. A
good bit of the story takes place outdoors, so there's also
more opportunity to show off the fabulous scenery. Rupert
Grint, in particular, seems to have been better directed and
isn't perpetually wandering about with the same expression,
having learned at least two more. The developing relationship
between Ron, Hermione, and Harry is shown, rather than told,
and done very well. Overall, the film's presentation of magic
is more mystical than the previous two films' rather pedestrian
take.
Unfortunately,
a few things have also gone wrong. We have offensive fat jokes
and offensive Rastafarian jokes very early on in the film.
The story's good enough that it stereotypes and juvenile humor
only detract from it, and I wish that the writers and director
would realize it and act accordingly. (I could go into a long
digression about how fat has become cutural shorthand for
greed and lack of self control (having been a symbol of prosperity
from B. C. until very recently, but I'll leave it people better
qualified than I.) The Dementors look like bargain-basement
nazgul, and the werewolf is scrawny enough to pass for weregreyhound.
Another thing that bothered me were the transitions; mostly,
the were trying too hard to be clever. The entire point of
a transition is to lead you into the next scene without drawing
attention to the underlying structure of the story. One or
two really stunning transitions are enough; I don't need to
be dazzled by fascinating animation every single time. Finally,
Emma Thompson's Sybil Trelawney is eerily reminiscent of Jennifer
Saunders's Edina in Absolutely Fabulous, although whether
it's deliberate or not, I can't tell. Personally, I find this
a very entertaining prospect, but I am known to have an odd
sense of humor...and as Azkaban is primarily marketed to a
demographic quite different from AbFab's, it's a weird decision,
if it is deliberate.
To sum
up--improved direction and attention to detail, but still
needs work.
Senior Writer L.I. Rapkin can be found raving on the front
page, lower left. Give her a
look, will ya'?
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