Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Alfonso Cuarón   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

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