[img]7|left|||no_popup[/img]With beloved subplots – Percy Weasley’s entrenchment in the Ministry of Magic at the expense of his family, ongoing quidditch games, and so on – either merely hinted at or expunged from the Harry Potter films altogether, the hugely successful series has become something of a litmus test for purists. But before trotting out once more the weary reminder that films and books are different mediums, it helps to consider the words of Harry Potter producer David Heyman at a recent press conference (http://scifiwire.com/2009/07/harry-potter-cast-lifts-v.php#more):
“The films took a fundamental turn when Steve, working with Alfonso Cuarón [director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban] made the decision to tell the story from Harry Potter's point of view, as opposed to translating the books to film. From that point, there were necessary omissions along the way. Something that we love—like SPEW [Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare], which is Hermione's interest in the house elves—we loved that, but it is omitted because it wasn't part of Harry's story. It allowed us to create a cinematic structure for the films rather than literally translating the books.”
For better or worse, the rationale illuminates every invention for the film, every scene plucked from the book and adjusted, every omission. While there is no shortage of nitpicking pain and pleasure to be had if one has the inclination for it, the disciplined and consistent approach to adapting the generously detailed source material has resulted in films that stand on their own as stories. True, this sixth installment – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – is book-ended by an invented scene and a tweaked climax. Yet both ultimately illustrate that most maddeningly vague thing — faithfulness to the overall course, however divergent in the details, and to Harry’s journey out of childhood innocence into an adult world ushered in by a keenly felt mortal awareness. The first invention becomes justified on account of the film’s romantic aspects while the latter is a practical adjustment that preserves every vital part of the scene while making the logistics work within the film’s context.
Reality, for a Moment
That opening scene in which we find Harry flirting with a waitress in an underground cafe, however, accomplishes more than giving Daniel Radcliffe the chance to play the awkward teenager faced with the terrifying prospect of asking a girl out. For that brief romantic spark, charming and sweet, is overshadowed by the grim realities of Potter’s world courtesy of an unexpected visitor. The scene is film noir in its sensibility, setting the tone for the film’s overall balance of poignantly comical teenaged romance and deadly serious feeling of emerging doom – or, as the metaphor would have it, the blend of light and dark whose contrast makes each stand out all the more viscerally.
For all that understanding the hows and whys of the script should smooth over the apparent gaps in translation, the Potter series (including Half-Blood Prince) has consistently been elevated by quality casting that gives the Potter films their persuasive, immersive character. The leads – Radcliffe, Gint and Watson – have all grown both in the obvious physical sense and in terms of their ability to handle nuance. Yet there is a lot of joy to be from both important secondary characters – Alan Rickman’s deliciously wicked Snape being the most obvious – as well as those characters whose screentime is limited to varying degrees. Oliver and James Phelps as the Weasley twins, for example. Or Matthew Lewis as one of the Potter gang’s most engaging characters, Neville Longbottom. In Half-Blood Prince, the winning addition is Jim Broadbent as Prof. Horace Slughorn, a former Hogwarts teacher called back to teach by Dumbledore (Gambon) for reasons involving the on-going battle with Voldemort. Broadbent is one of those versatile, immensely likeable actors whose recognition has deservedly grown over the years thanks to higher profile casting. His Slughorn is all of Rowling’s charming, pitiable character whose obsession with hobnobbing with the famous and influential carries with it a good dose of sleaze. And although obviously not an addition, Tom Felton’s anguished, surprisingly sympathetic Draco Malfoy gains depth beyond the bully we’ve seen so far, enough that he feels like a fresh character again.
Half-Blood Prince also shakes up the Potter saga in that David Yates surpasses his efforts in Order of the Phoenix to deliver the first Potter film that is truly epic in its disposition. Yates offers sweeping scene compositions of turbulent skies and beautiful yet foreboding locations – besieged, vulnerable Hogwarts is more beautiful than ever – creating a high-stakes atmosphere that goes beyond the personal dramas of Harry and his friends. Although Voldemort, as portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, doesn’t make an appearance, his malevolence nonetheless influences the film though the agency of his cruel, terrorizing Death Eaters, led by Bellatrix Lestrange (a brilliantly mad and vicious Helena Bonham-Carter), and, critically, through flashbacks to his first meeting with Dumbledore and years at Hogwarts. Holding their own as creepy kids, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin plays Tom Riddle at age 11 as one would expect – a budding little anti-christ – while Frank Delane plays the 16-year old Riddle with a malevolence tempered not by the vulnerability of childhood but by a calculating patience. Another point in Yates’ favour: where the magical nature of Potter’s world became neglected thanks to Alfonso Cuarón’s revisionist takeover of the series, they are here fully restored after a gradually regaining their strength with Mike Newell’s handling of the series in Goblet of Fire. Little enchanted details abound, once again highlighting a world of wonder despite the sinister forces lurking about.
It’s all wonderful. But the biggest attraction comes from more screentime for Snape and the issue of where his loyalties lie and, in greater part, more Dumbledore. The climatic end of Order of the Phoenix offered the satisfaction of seeing the great wizard in action – Dumbledore makes Gandalf seem like a parlour magician. Half-Blood Prince delivers on the relationship between Dumbledore and Potter with Michael Gambon emerging from behind the headmaster’s desk to portray a man whose greatness lies as much in the awareness of his shortcomings as in his willingness to do what is needed to help Potter in his inevitable confrontation with Voldemort.
Although the film does not stand entirely on its own – it continues the plot threads woven in the past films and clearly sets up the two-part conclusion, Half-Blood Prince embodies the best features of the series so far even as it glosses over those details that might make the film accessible to newcomers to the series. But as it is, this Potter epic is a success that never loses sight of the characters and their relationships to one another.
As for the aforementioned litmus test, it is this: To what extent can the films be allowed to work on their own terms? To this Potterhead, Half-Blood Prince continues a series that has properly carved its own magical identity from the books.
Warner Bros. presents a film directed by David Yates. Screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Gint, Emma Watson, Bonnie Wright, Michael Gambon and Jim Broadbent. 153 minutes. Rated PG (for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality).
Entertainment: ** (out of two)
Craft: ** (out of two)
Gold star recommendation!
Warner Bros. presents a film directed by David Yates. Screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Gint, Emma Watson, Bonnie Wright, Michael Gambon and Jim Broadbent. 153 minutes. Rated PG (for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality).
Frédérik invites you to discuss this movie and more at his blog.