Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Your a teenager Harry Potter.
Yes, thank God, Harry Potter and
the little actor that portrays him, Daniel Radcliffe,
are finally growing up. After reveling in mindless
one-dimensional characters for kids and dealing only
slightly in the darkness inherent in its story, the
Harry Potter series finally grows some hairs and becomes
something worth taking note of with this, its third
installment.
The change is obvious from the first
two sequences. In the opening, new director Alfonso
Cuaron, who helmed the amazing "Y tu mama tambien,"
makes a slightly adult joke as Harry hides under his
sheet at night and attempts an incantation. At first,
one thinks perhaps Harry is trying to make something
close at hand a little bigger but the joke is on us:
He's just trying to make his wand light up. (I swear
to God it is impossible to write about this series
of films without making dick jokes. At least Cuaron
seems to get that too).
The next scene really shows us that
this is going to be a better, more realistic film.
After becoming stuck in the same sort of one-dimensional
representations of Harry's horrid adopted family that
have plagued the series, the boy wizard finally gets
some backbone and stands up for himself against their
tyranny! This is my biggest problem with the first
two films, and it continues here, the adopted family
are such boring, typical, been-done-to-death villains
that it makes me ill. And Harry is such a namby-pamby
kid that he puts up with them. It infuriates an adult
viewer. Well, not here! Harry finally tells them off
a bit. It's such a relief. If only he could tell them
to "Fuck off!" the film would be a brilliant masterpiece!
But, nonetheless, a masterpiece
it is. At least visually. Cuaron brings a brilliantly
dark palette to the film. The cinematography here
by Michael Seresin is wonderful. After all, this is
the guy who shot "Midnight Express" and "Birdy." We
should expect nothing less than brilliance and Seresin
and Cuaron deliver. The lust exteriors here are simply
scrumptious. And Cuaron's choice to iris in and iris
out on certain scenes is nothing short of genius.
Every frame of the film is beautiful to look at (even
those without hottie Rupert Grint in them). And Cuaron
adds much of his own style and personality to the
film without ever losing the flavor of the series
or diminishing its importance to its fans. (My favorite
Cuaron moment has Ron and Hermoine hugging as Harry
comes to join them and the three congeal as a trio
once again. Not only does this scene point out the
changes that are taking place in the dynamic of the
relationship between the three but it also seems as
a sly homage to Cuaron's own "Y tu mama.")
Radcliffe has grown leaps and bounds
as an actor. If one needs any proof of this, simply
look at his perfect reactions as he stands on a covered
bridge and co-star David Thewlis describes Harry's
parents. Radcliffe's face lights up as if his own
loved ones were being extolled. In scene after scene
he proves he is becoming more and more dexterous as
a thespian. And while Grint isn't given anything at
all to do (he's still adorable to look at but dammit
Ron Weasly needs to grow as a character) co-star Emma
Watson is allowed to stretch a bit here and proves
she too is improving in her craft.
It doesn't hurt that the kids are
surrounded by remarkable talent. Although Alan Rickman
is in fewer scenes here, he is more vibrant and astounding
than he has been in previous film. He seems more well-rounded
and far less obvious. When he and Radcliffe share
the screen, it crackles with energy. Emma Thompson,
Gary Oldman, Timothy Spall and Thewlis enjoy fulfilling
the necessary requirements of their seemingly one-
off roles. And while Julie Walters and Maggie Smith
are used only sparingly, it is delightful to see them.
Sadly, in addition to Grint, Tom
Felton is stuck in a rut as Draco Malfoy (give this
hottie something to do). And newcomer Michael Gambon
seems a poor substitute for the late Richard Harris.
Then again, it's doubtful anyone could have filled
those shows successfully.
This is the only Harry Potter film
that I have adored and the only one I wanted to see
again immediately after it was over. There's a large
amount of growth here in storytelling, characters
and acting. This may very well be the "Empire Strikes
Back" of this series, the one fans will always consider
their favorite.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban" is delightfully dark and full of emotion.
When Harry sees his father here towards the end of
the plot, and then later realizes what he has truly
seen, this story begins to show real growth in content
and ideals. Harry is a boy becoming a young man, and
he sees that in himself, surely as much as Radcliffe
does as he watches his youth being captured for the
world to see at 24 images per second. Like Harry,
Radcliffe has an immense talent and an immense power
and his ability to realize it and grow into it, without
ego or conceit, is what makes both boys utterly charming
and perfectly delightful to watch.
Notes:
Score by John Williams.
The next film, "Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire" is currently filming under the
direction of Mike Newell and is due to be released
November 18th, 2005.
Viewed in Austin in June 2004.
