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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the first of the three screen
adaptations of J.K. Rowling's stories to feel like a film, instead of
merely
being a word-for-word rehash of the novels. Credit new director Alfonso
Cuarón for the positive changes, beginning with his ability to whittle
things out of the story, which was something Chris Columbus didn't have
the
stones to do. The books keep getting longer and longer, but Prisoner is
shorter than the first two movies. The result is a snappier pace betrayed
only by Rowling's faulty (and probably quite confusing, for the little
kids)
third act.
But that's one of the things that makes Prisoner so cool. It's darker,
scarier, and there's more of a palpable sense of danger here than in The
Sorcerer's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets. It's more adult (and that
has
nothing - aside from a wand joke or two - to do with the presence of Y tu
mamá también's director), and seeing this series become gradually more
sophisticated, along with its three stars, is a real treat.
Cuarón starts making changes right away, opting for an abbreviated opening
shot with a handheld camera (the interior of Chez Dursley house could
easily
be mistaken for a Woody Allen film, circa 1986). After blowing up his
Aunt
Marge (Pam Ferris) like Violet Beauregarde, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) takes
off for what looks to be a permanent break from his horrible guardians.
He
hops a mysterious three-tiered bus with Jar Jar Binks' head dangling from
the rearview mirror and ends up in London, where he meets up with his two
chums (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) and learns some disturbing news: A
crazy wizard named Sirius Black has escaped from the inescapable Azkaban
Prison and seems, for some reason, to want Harry dead.
Black (played frighteningly well by Gary Oldman, who is scary before he
even
appears in a scene) is the linchpin in Prisoner's story. Hogwarts is put
on
lockdown as if Professor Dumbledore himself had just slipped the Patriot
Act
through whatever the wizard world's version of Congress might be.
Dementors
(think Ring Wraiths from The Fellow****p of the Ring) are sent to patrol
the
school, looking for signs of Black and sucking the essence out of anyone
who
gets in their way. And, of course, there are a couple of new teachers,
played by Emma Thompson (Love Actually) and David Thewlis (Timeline),
joining the already impressive ranks of Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and
that
guy who played Rupert on Survivor (Robbie Coltrane).
Prisoner features very little Quidditch, and remarkably little of the
wonderful sounding Hogsmeade, though Cuarón does add small touches of
charm
here and there. A great deal of Prisoner takes place outdoors and for
once
doesn't appear to have been shot on a soundstage. The changes of season
are
marked by the violent outbursts of the Whomping Willow tree. For the
first
time, Hogwarts feels to be anything but a fancy prep school (albeit one
for
little witches and warlocks), as Cuarón shows us dank, crumbling walls,
poorly lit hallways, and its students wearing the types of clothes you'd
see
in a typical middle school instead of stuffy uniforms. It 's all
delectably
shot by Michael Seresin, who may not be quite as dark as Emmanuel Lubezki
but is still responsible for the gloomy photography in films like Angel
Heart and Angela's Ashes.
Cuarón also does well setting up what I can only imagine is going to be
the
Luke-Leia-Han love triangle (and subsequent realization that Voldemort is
really James Potter). But I've not read past Book Three, so I may not
know
what the hell I'm talking about. I do, however, know the third act of
Prisoner's book bugged me when I read it, and the movie didn't do much to
make me feel any better about it. I'd explain more, but it's all
spoiler-related. It just seemed really false and particularly
unbelievable.
Other than that, though, Prisoner is a damn fine flick that improves
noticeably on its two predecessors.
2:22 - PG for frightening moments, creature violence and mild language
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X-RAMR-ID: 37954
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1286034
X-RT-TitleID: 1132921
X-RT-SourceID: 595
X-RT-AuthorID: 1146
X-RT-RatingText: 9/10
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