© 2003-2006 David Moles

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When they make me Philosopher-King...

11 o'clock, June 9, 2004

. . . only directors who understand realism will be allowed to make fantasy movies.

The difference between Harry Potter in the hands of Alfonso Cuarón, who understands how to make movies about real people doing real things in real places, and Harry Potter in the hands of Chris Columbus, who understands how to make live-action cartoons, is night and day.

(I mean — my God — they’re actually in England in this one! In Tony Blair’s England! With, like, suburban roundabouts and car alarms and Docklands Light Rail! And the characters are actual kids, with adolescent anxieties and Marks & Sparks clothes and a sense of humor! And the castle, it actually has a sense of space! And — All right, all right, I’m sitting down . . .)

Mike Newell has also done some pretty good work, and I suspect Goblet will still be a significant improvement over Stone and Chamber . . . but with Prisoner, Cuarón’s given him a damned tough act to follow. I think we’re going to miss him.

Comments

I didn't phrase it quite that way, but you've hit on a lot of the reaction I had to the movie. It's so, it's so real! It's so alive! I think it was the scene where the Weasleys all show up at the Leaky Cauldron that really hooked me--something about the way that was done, with everything so busy and so natural, made me so happy that I almost started laughing.

—— Susan, 2:41 PM, Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Yeah. There was something really nice about the way they handled Harry’s POV in that scene, too, although I can’t quite put my finger on it.

—— David Moles, 4:34 PM, Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Yes! Their clothes look normal. (Did anyone think for a second that Hermione would put up with knee socks in the first movie? These kids aren't being dressed by their parents every morning.) The boys in the dorm act like boys instead of Pinocchios. The kids get excited over candy stores and joke shops, not banquet tables full of healthy (if tasty) food. Magic involves depth of feeling instead of little sparkles in the air.

I think I spent the entire movie just sort of wiggling happily in my seat.

Goblet is a sprawling, unfocused book. I envy neither the director nor the screenwriter.

—— Stephanie, 7:15 AM, Thursday, June 10, 2004

I kept wondering, where did all these _hills_ come from? as they tromped up and down big steps. And then I realized, the landscape felt so much more real with them. Great post, David.

—— JeremyT, 10:44 AM, Thursday, June 10, 2004

That Leaky Cauldron scene was what I watched during the ten minutes I stepped into the theater while waiting for another movie to start. I hadn't planned on watching this Harry Potter movie -- I couldn't stand the first one, and didn't watch the second -- but that ten minutes made me really really want to watch the third!

Something about the combination of extravagance and gritty flavor brought to mind the BBC production of Gormenghast (which I think is fantastic). Very British, embracing its edges and oddities, and with a kind of unsentimental maturity underlying all the fanciful fun. I didn't get that feeling of treacle being stuffed down my throat. (Or actually, cotton candy being stuffed down my throat, because the first movie felt heavily American to me.) Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, a lot.

—— Karen, 7:31 PM, Thursday, June 10, 2004

Yes! (snaps fingers) I knew it reminded me of something.

Now if they can just find a reason to cast Jonathan Rhys-Meyers for something or other . . .

—— David Moles, 11:23 AM, Friday, June 11, 2004