Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
After the fabulous, visionary work of director Chris Columbus
in bringing J.K. Rowling's first two books to the screen, a new
director, Alfonso Cuarón (A Little Princess), takes
over the reins for The Prisoner of Azkaban. As this is
a more interesting story than the first two installments, one
would expect the director of A Little Princess to evoke a wonderful
sense of magic. But sadly, the opposite proves true.
This is not to say this is a bad film, for Cuarón does
come up with a number of inspired ideas. The "change of
season" transitions have a wonderful poetry about them,
and building the Hogwarts exteriors in Scotland's Glen Coe is
also a great touch. Likewise, getting out of the school and into
the outdoors not only in the action scenes, but also for simple
character dialogs, allows the story to breathe a bit more.
All the same, there is a real-world cynicism to Cuarón's
vision that is not appropriate for the fanciful realm of Harry
Potter. Despite the stories' dark elements, they also evoke a
childlike sense of wonder. Unfortunately, Cuarón seems
unable to conjure that magical aura. Also, much of the warmth
and optimism which made Columbus' Harry Potter films so
engaging is missing here. Cuarón has an interesting style
no doubt, but his efforts to put his own decidedly dark and cynical
stamp on the material are off-putting.
Continuing the trend of the previous films, some of Britain's
finest actors lend their talent to the project. This time we
have Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, the convicted murderer who
has escaped from Azkaban prison and is looking for Harry. Oldman
is perfectly cast, and his experience in playing intense, black-hearted
villains is put to great use here (yet not quite in the way one
might expect).
David Thewlis arrives as Professor Lupin, the new Defense Against
the Dark Arts teacher. In a departure from the previous teachers
of the this class, Lupin is a kindly "Mr. Chips"-type
character (but is he, too, hiding something?). Although Thewlis
has many fine performances to his credit, this may well be his
best, as he brings a tremendous warmth to the father/son bond
which Lupin forms with Harry. Also, it is nice to see Emma Thompson
on the silver screen, from which she has been too long absent.
Her performance as Professor Sybil Trelawley does not take up
a lot of screen time but is fabulously memorable, and Thompson
embellishes it with eccentricity and impeccable comic flair.
The rest of the Hogwarts faculty are also along-Maggie Smith
as the patrician Minerva McGonagall, Alan Rickman as the shifty
Serverus Snape, and, of course, Robbie Coltrane in his ever-endearing
gentle giant Hagrid. Gone (and greatly missed) is the late Richard
Harris in the role of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Replacing
him is another great actor, Michael Gambon. Unfortunately, Gambon
is underused, making the transition rather awkward.
John Williams' score reflects the film's new changes, eschewing
most of his familiar musical themes in favor of somber melodies
and stridently chilling dissonances with a wildly eclectic instrumental
palette. While the style of his prior scores is missed, the invention
of this new score is as strong as ever.
Of course, J.K. Rowling's brilliant narrative is the true heart
of the film. The story is full of unexpected twists and turns,
and keeps the viewer interested, if not enchanted, for its entire
duration. But ultimately, The Prisoner of Azkaban just
lacks the heart of the first two films. Columbus knew how to
draw the viewer in and make the characters accessible. By comparison,
Cuarón's film is far less emotionally involving. Harry's
relationship with Professor Lupin is wonderful, but otherwise
one feels distanced from the characters. And while there are
a few moments of fantastical wonder (such as Harry's first flight
on Buckbeak the hippogrif), there is little of the enchantment
that was so cleverly wrought by Columbus in the first two films.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a good film but
decidedly a low ebb in the Harry Potter series.
Paul Andrew MacLean
© 2004
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LadyJanet@RenaissanceMagazine.com