Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Movie Review
Movie Review
It has been two years since the previous Harry Potter film, ‘Order of the Phoenix’ hit theatres. After Warner Brothers decided to delay the release of ‘Half-Blood Prince’ by 8 months, opting for a summer release rather than fall, moviegoers were forced to wait longer (this was no problem for me personally, since summer is almost always better schedule-wise). I am happy to say that it was worth the wait.
It is difficult to decide where to start with this film, since it seemed to have it all: the darkness, the politics, the emotion, and (now) the comedy. This was the book that had the most adult jokes in it, and the film reflected that. I am pleased though that this film had a healthy balance of the dark intensity of the plot and the comedy of the interpersonal relationships of the characters. It made people in the theatre laugh and cry.
The Darkness
Overall, the film is not as dark as its predecessor, ‘Order of the Phoenix’, which was dark throughout. However, it had its dark scenes, and when they occurred, they were pretty frightening (though apparently, not frightening enough for a PG-13 rating). If there is a borderline film between PG and PG-13, this is it. Those scenes were handled beautifully, and in some, poetically. In fact, the film opened with an emotionally-charged flashback to ‘Order of the Phoenix’ (an ‘assumed flashback’, since the actual footage was not in the previous film). I have now seen the film twice, and both times, this first scene got audible reactions from the audience, and rightly so. It shows a lot in very little time. (SPOILER-WARNING) A grief-stricken Harry tries to make his way out of the destroyed Ministry after the dramatic battle scenes of ‘Order of the Phoenix’ while countless reporters are shouting and taking flashing photographs. Dumbledore places a protective arm around Harry as everything moves in slow-motion. (SPOILER END) It is a very accurate representation of what a person feels after going through some traumatic event. This was an ingenious way to open this film. It reminds the audience of Harry’s state of mind at the end of the previous film, and sets up the closer relationship between Harry and Dumbledore that we are going to see later in the film. It sets the tone for the entire movie and it all happens before the title appears.
The Comedy
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that there has never been so much comedy in a Harry Potter film. I laughed my head off in the theatre and was still laughing afterwards. Daniel Radcliffe really got to stretch his comedic wings in this one, and it’s nice to have confirmation that, although he enjoys doing the dark, intense scenes more, he can still portray a hilarious side, and do it naturally. Although Rupert Grint is usually responsible for the comic relief in the Harry Potter franchise, the biggest laughs came from Dan’s comedic moments (at least in my theatre). Newcomer Jessie Cave, who plays Ron’s love interest, Lavender Brown, also added some hilarity. She was a bit over-the-top sometimes (Lavender was not that crazy, that daft, or that pale in the book, but that could fill an article in itself), but she got many laughs from the audience.
The Performances
All of the performances by the actors, young, old, and new were top-notch for this film. The latest newcomer, Jim Broadbent, playing retired Potions professor Horace Slughorn, fits in very nicely, and gives a multi-layered performance of the famous-student ‘collector’ with a dark secret. I’ve even read some reviews that call for a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Academy for Mr. Broadbent, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was given one. All of the young actors seem to have really settled into their characters, and each gives a nuanced performance.
There is a LOT of subtlety in this film that many book-readers can appreciate. I found myself smiling to myself during those subtle moments in the film that either deepened a character, or foreshadowed something to come later in the film, or films down the line. Even to my friends around me who hadn’t read the book could tell that there was something deeper going on during those moments even though they couldn’t put it into words. There’s one moment that wasn’t in the book but was probably my favorite moment in the entire film. It foreshadowed something HUGE that we learn late in ‘Deathly Hallows’, and it’s considered by many fans to be the biggest twist of the series. There was some imagery that was used to great effect as well. This is very encouraging to an aspiring filmmaker (myself) who considers subtlety and imagery to be as important as plot and structure when writing a script.
The cinematography and art direction in this film is exquisite (so much so that I will vomit if they are not at least nominated for their respective Oscars). One could freeze almost any part in the film and it would look like a painting, because the composition was that good. I was further impressed with the general management of depicting the Wizarding World. Instead of drawing attention to every bit of magic that occurs, the magic has seeped seamlessly into the environment. Like Melissa Anelli of The Leaky Cauldron said in her review, it doesn’t look like the filmmakers created this world for a movie; it looks like a film crew VISITED the Wizarding World (which already exists), and filmed a movie there. That’s how organic the use of magic in the world feels, which is consistent with the book, since it is mainly from Harry’s perspective. At the beginning, every instance of magic seems incredible to him. Then he gets used to it, and unless something happens that he hasn’t experienced before, not much attention is drawn to it. The same is true for the film.
Jumping off of that fact, this is not a film for those who have not at least seen the previous Harry Potter films or read the books. Newbies WILL be lost. It doesn’t explain everything that has come before it to bring everyone up to speed, which I think makes the film better. There would be so much exposition that I (along with others) think most of the audience would fall asleep waiting for the action of the current installment to gather speed. Frankly, if you’re too lazy to watch the previous Harry Potter films before seeing this one, you asked to be lost.
One can tell, looking at the previous film and then this one, that they were both directed by the same person (which is a good thing). It was nice to have that continuity again, especially since this is the first time the Harry Potter films have had the same director for two films in a row since ‘Chamber of Secrets’. I am extremely glad that David Yates is staying on for the last two films, ‘Deathly Hallows: Part I’ and ‘Deathly Hallows: Part II’. He, along with everyone working with him, has done an incredible job. This movie is not just a great Harry Potter film; it is a great film.
