Movie Review (very long--you've been warned)

[Barb]

I'm still coming down off my movie high.  It's not as high as I 
would have liked, but it's right up there.  The things I loved were 
absolutely fantastic (and I'm not a bit sorry that I'm going to see 
it again tomorrow with my family) and the things I didn't--well, I 
know they're coming the next time I see the film, so I can brace 
myself.  Since I was very uneasy about the flashback scene before 
seeing it, let me say right off that I'm fine with it now.  First, 
it occurred at night (not day).  Second, it seemed to be Hagrid's 
imagined idea of what occurred, not Harry's.  I am no longer worried 
that this contradicts what we learn in PoA when Harry gets too near 
the dementors and hears his parents' voices.  It was pretty clear 
that this was what Hagrid--who's in no position to know for sure--
imagined.

I was a little disturbed at the implication that Harry's birthday 
was followed immediately by his departing for school.  This would 
imply either that Harry's birthday is August 31 or that school 
begins on August 1 (the day after Harry's canon birthday).  Perhaps 
the exact date of his birthday won't be of importance in the films; 
I find this odd as JKR gave Harry HER birthday.  The scene where he 
was accessing platform 9 3/4 was very good, but I can't see the 
point of Percy not having glasses.  Was someone afraid that folks 
would confuse him with Harry?  Ginny did not look 10; more like 8 or 
at the most 9.  I just hope that this little girl (or whatever 
little girl they use for CoS, if they get someone else) turns out to 
be a better actor than Emma Watson by the time CoS rolls around.

I'm afraid I have to gripe about Watson's scenery chewing.  Was 
there no other child in all of Great Britain who could be found for 
the role?  It was abundantly clear any time she had to string 
together more than five words that she had no acting experience, and 
that she probably will not have an acting career as an adult.  She 
did fine in the troll scene (one of the best scenes in the movie, 
IMO) while she was screaming and running about, but when she was 
trying to convince McGonagall it was all her fault, all I could 
think was, "Did they bother to do more than one take?  Is that the 
best one they could get?"  

I know that there was a very concerted effort to keep it a UK 
production, but I'm afraid that looking in England, Scotland, 
Ireland and Wales did not produce a satisfactory Hermione Granger in 
my book.  Lindsay Lohan was eleven or twelve when she did the remake 
of The Parent Trap and she did a very good English accent and was a 
far better actor besides.  There are 270 million people in the US 
and if you take Canada and other commonwealth nations into account 
too, the next time they're casting Hermione (assuming Watson's 
signed for the first three films) I think they should extend their 
search to the entire English-speaking world (the UK, North America, 
Australia and New Zealand).  There must be SOMEONE more 
appropriate.  At least Hermione spends much of CoS lying petrified 
in the infirmary.  Maybe by the time PoA is made Watson will have 
had a chance to take some acting classes.  I'm rather worried now 
about that long set piece where she and Harry have to travel back 
through time to rescue Buckbeak and Sirius; it's just the two of 
them for quite a while, and if she doesn't improve, I'm not sure 
I'll want to see it (especially since that sequence and the one in 
the Shrieking Shack--which also includes Hermione--are the PoA high 
points).

Other than Watson, I was completely satisfied by the film and then 
some.  Beginning with the star, Daniel Radcliffe was perfect, 
absolutely perfect.  The python scene was very well done, and the 
bit when Hagrid arrives at the hut on the rock.  We didn't really 
get an explanation for his baggy clothes, but I suppose if you 
hadn't read the book you could just assume that the Dursleys already 
made him sleep under the stairs; why should they care whether he had 
clothes that fit him?  My favorite part was when he 
said, "Checkmate," and the sword fell at his feet.  Very King 
Arthur!  Great movie moment.  And he was very subtle (Emma Watson, 
take note) when he realized that the stone was in his pocket; we 
knew what was going on but he didn't telegraph it to Quirrell with 
eyes that were too wide or anything.  I did miss his line in Potions 
about Snape perhaps asking Hermione the questions; if there was one 
thing the script could have used, it was more funny lines, which 
were in great abundance in the book.  I'm looking forward to seeing 
Radcliffe in every movie; I hope he stays on and lets us watch him 
grow up as Harry.

That said, in my opinion Rupert Grint stole the move from 
Radcliffe.  This kid has got a hell of a future ahead of him.  From 
the moment he says, "Wicked!" upon seeing Harry's scar to the nerve-
wracking wait for the queen to knock this brave boy off his horse, 
he was the perfect Ron, the perfect knight, jester and knave rolled 
into one.  One thing Kloves got wrong was when Ron and Harry were in 
the common room opening their Christmas gifts and Ron didn't recoil 
when Harry said "Voldemort" (which in the film was pronounced with 
the "t" interestingly enough) and demand that he say "You-Know-
Who."  Ron's reactions to Harry saying the "V" word are some of the 
funnier bits in the books, IMO. Humor was in general sadly lacking 
in the script.  Happily, most of the few funny lines that were left 
were Grint's, and he made the most of each one.  I will be very, 
very disappointed if anyone other than Grint plays Ron in future 
films.  He IS Ron, through and through.

Tom Felton was all right as Draco Malfoy.  He was neither as hammy 
as Watson nor as fully realized as Radcliffe or Grint.  On the 
whole, I believed he was a spoiled rich brat, and his only over-the-
top bit was the look on his face when he was screaming in fear upon 
hearing of the troll.  He actually underplayed the scene right 
before the sorting when Harry rejected him; he could have done a bit 
more with his face to show that this was going to have major future 
ramifications.  Felton didn't really have a lot to do in this film 
(other than run scared), so I'll have to reserve judgment on him as 
an actor for CoS, in which Malfoy has more to do.

The running gag about Seamus blowing everything up was not funny, 
IMO, and it would have been more appropriate to have Neville 
experiencing these mishaps; it would have placed his later bravery 
in a different light.  I did love the look on Neville's face when he 
received his 10 points at the end; this kid had a very small role, 
and he made far more of it than Watson made of hers.  He was 
understated and effective and you never doubted for a moment that he 
was Neville, despite his limited screen time.  In the film, Seamus 
was expendable as far as I'm concerned.

The twins were good for what we saw of them; looking forward to more 
of that in CoS.  The other student who stood out was Oliver Wood, 
played by  Sean Biggerstaff, who could give acting classes to most 
of the other kids, IMO.  Every line was perfect, especially when, 
right before Harry's first Quidditch match, he tells him about his 
own first match.  The offhanded delivery was beautiful, and set us 
up for the violent confrontation between Gryffindor and Slytherin.  
I'm glad to see him again after having enjoyed the Winter Guest 
(directed by Alan Rickman) and I see every sign that he can make a 
living as an actor for years to come, if he chooses.  It's too bad 
Oliver doesn't appear in the books after PoA; maybe eventually JKR 
will bring his character back in some way.  (Wishful thinking, 
probably, but there are still three books to go, so anything's 
possible.)

The adults didn't have much to do, but I'm not as dissatisfied with 
Richard Harris as many people seem to be.  He wasn't as twinkly and 
droll as Dumbledore might have been, but I fault the script for 
that.  The Dumbldore-ness was leeched out of the character and I 
believe Harris performed admirably with what he was given.  Maggie 
Smith was, of course, perfection.  She didn't give away a thing when 
she saw Harry fly past her office window; you really could believe 
Harry was in deep trouble (if you didn't read the book).  I hope we 
never have to accept anyone else in the role of McGonagall for any 
reason.  Robbie Coltrane was all right as Hagrid, best during 
Norbert's birth scene.  Lily was fine, but I agree with others that 
James Potter was far too old.  How on earth is Harry supposed to 
mistake himself for his dad when he's not quite fourteen?  (PoA, 
when he conjures the Patronus.)  Will Harry have a receding hairline 
by then?  The lack of attention to details like this was sometimes 
jarring.

Alan Rickman WAS Severus Snape.  Every line was a jewel, carefully 
cut and polished.  Even though he was in the same film as Maggie 
Smith, he made me think of an old film I saw from the thirties 
called "As You Desire Me."  Greta Garbo starred, and it was 
fascinating to see how she really ACTED, while the rest of the cast 
recited lines and made faces and plodded about from place to place.  
Spencer Tracy in "Captains Courageous" also comes to mind, or any 
film where one actor is just head-and-shoulders above the rest, so 
that they seem to be a different species altogether.  That was 
Rickman in this film, and it's too bad there wasn't more of him.  

Unfortunately, I was left hoping that someone else pens future 
films, as Steve Kloves' repeated use of the Hagrid line, "I 
shouldn't have said that," was starting to get on my nerves.  
Granted, the audience laughed each time (one of the only times 
people in the audience laughed, which just should not be) but 
relying on this kind of repetition is not how JKR gets laughs, and 
it was disappointing that Kloves didn't see fit to use her funny 
lines instead of trying to write his own (which weren't anywhere 
near as good).

I had no problem with the overall structure of the script.  I didn't 
miss the things that were left out.  The potions/logic puzzle really 
would have been deadly dull on screen (and it would have meant 
putting up with more of Watson).  Likewise the Dursleys' trek 
between Privet Drive and the hut on the rock, as well as the rescue 
of Norbert.  Some bits which were without dialogue (i.e. the trip 
across the lake, the letters cascading into the living room, Harry 
sitting by his window looking out at the night, Harry walking across 
the courtyard in the snow with Hedwig on his arm) felt like they 
could have been shorter.  All of these scenes (and some others) 
seemed to have the cart before the horse.  It felt like their length 
was dictated by John Williams' score, so they had to last long 
enough for a certain number of bars to play (the crossing-the-lake 
motif, the it's-raining-letters motif, etc.).  I'd have been happier 
if I felt Williams had created his score to fit the film instead of 
the other way around.

I loved the look of Hogwarts; the shifting stairs were well done, 
and this was a plausible explanation for how the kids wound up in 
the wrong corridor (if a bit coincidental).  A change from the books 
I loved, for its warmth and coziness, was the fact that on Christmas 
morning Ron and Harry went downstairs to the common room to open 
their presents by the fire, and the presents were under a lovely 
Christmas tree.  Getting the presents in the dorm always seemed a 
bit cold to me.  I also liked that you can look down on the common 
room from the upstairs.  Just the architecture student in me coming 
out. 

The special effects were by and large well done.  Quidditch was 
fabulous!  I loved that when the Slytherin Seeker was banging into 
Harry, Harry was giving as good as he was getting.  I'm not sure of 
the purpose of his catching the Snitch in his mouth, which jarred 
me, while the surfing part didn't, although I expected it to.  Since 
he subsequently fell, I didn't look on it as bravado, but a 
desperate attempt to do whatever was necessary to get the Snitch.

I wasn't as disturbed by the centaur as others; it could have been 
better done, but it was brief and inconsequential (I don't remember 
him talking about Mars being bright, either).  Fluffy was fine, as 
was the devil's snare.  The flying keys were FAST and EVIL.  The 
chess game was the best scene, especially since this gave Ron a 
chance to shine.  (It's not a special effect, but I didn't miss the 
Harry/Hermione hug here.  I'm sorry, but eleven-year-olds just don't 
do that.)  The part where Voldmort sort of goes through Harry at the 
end was unexpected but well done and appropriately scary.

Overall, I'd say it's one of the most successful screen adaptations 
of a book I've seen, and certainly one of the most enjoyable films 
I've seen in a while.  It didn't have quite the resonance of the 
book for me, but then it wasn't my favorite of the four extant 
books.  I look forward to seeing Ginny (assuming they find someone 
good) and the rest of the kids (assuming Watson improves) in CoS.  
Perhaps if Harris gets better lines next time he'll be a more 
convincing Dumbledore.  I also hope they get a good Tom Riddle, as 
that will make or break the climax in the Chamber.  The basilisk 
will be hard to do; that's another concern.  Other the other hand, 
Kenneth Branagh as Lockhart is definitely something to look forward 
to, especially his interaction with Rickman as Snape!    

--Barb
(who wishes she could watch CoS tomorrow but is happy to see the 
first film again)