A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Date Viewed: 11/29/02

Details:

Daniel Radcliffe

Emma Watson

Rupert Grint

Tom Felton

Jason Isaacs

Robbie Coltrane

Kenneth Branagh

Alan Rickman

Richard Harris

Maggie Smith

Director: Chris Columbus

Music & score: John Williams

Score: 1/2

The Review: In this, Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) second year as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Magic, the holidays and seasons seem less important and consume less screen-time than in the first outing (Sorcerer's Stone) -- so much so that it's hard to figure out what is the exact passage of time, unless you pay inordinate attention to the weather outside. The movie is a bit longer than necessary, with a dip in the middle to allow for a brief nap, but overall it is worth viewing.

However -- there's always a "however," isn't there? -- it seems as if the screenplay has drastically edited the novel into a series of vaguely interconnected sketches designed solely to put the core characters, and Harry most of all, into harm's way. Yes, there's a Quidditch match, with (delivered) threats of bodily harm. It's as if Harry is a mere foil for all the dangers of adolescent life plus those of the magical world, crammed into two semesters. There's minimal effort devoted to the continuing characterization that does occur (and occurs quite well) in J.K. Rowling's books, and instead more emphasis placed on scary sequences, SFX, and heroic tasks. The fact that this movie works at all is a credit to the core actors and their ability to carry off the roles of students (and teachers). In particular, Ron Weasley (Grint) continues to be well cast.

The new characters vary from curious (Dobby the house elf, and Lucius Malfoy) to marginally boring (Ginny, and Colin Creevey, the flash camera guy). Dobby comes across as a bit more negative, malevolent and interfering than I remembered from the book. Ginny is almost a non-entity who seems to be included as a foil for the heir of Slytherin; this is a drastic reduction in role compared with the novel, and will make it difficult to understand her involvement in future parts. The new "defense against the dark arts" teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, is managed well by Branagh as a foppish, egocentric, do-nothing twit. Draco's father Lucius Malfoy (Isaacs) appears in person for the first time in the sequence; Isaacs wears the same malevolent leer as he did as the renegade Colonel Tavington in The Patriot.

A quibble: the ground under Hogwarts must be a virtual labyrinth of hollowed out passages! It's a feat of magic that the whole edifice doesn't cave in.

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