review

[Schlobin1 at aol.com]

Well, I saw Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a second time today. It 
was fun listening to Jesse's comments (when the Weasleys appeared in the 
Flying Ford Anglia outside of Harry's window in Surrey), Jesse said "Good 
thinking, Ron", and "I love Dobby". "That's Malfoy - he's evil!" "I know what 
a basilisk is, Mommy, it's a huge snake, close your eyes, quick, Mommy, or it 
will turn us to stone." Despite my overwhelmingly negative comments below, I 
did enjoy myself (probably because I'm a dyed in the wool Potterhead).

Nonetheless, my verdict of yesterday remains. It was very disappointing. The 
screen play was dreadful (Steve Kloves), and the directing (Chris Columbus) 
lived up to everyone's worst fears. The screenplay reminded me of a 
translation of the Odyssey that was word for word - as opposed to a looser 
and more creative translation that was poetic (Fitzgerald's for example). The 
screenplay has been faulted for slavishly following the book. However, in 
reality, it almost always omits the best jokes in the books, and with some 
exceptions* substitutes poor ones. (J.K. Rowling has been recently quoted to 
say that obviously she can't be compared to Tolkien who created a mythology, 
but that she thought she had better jokes. I agree, she does, but I have to 
say that it's equivalent to criticizing Beowulf or the Kalevala for not being 
more amusing). translation, for example). *{One of the exceptions is Ron 
trying to turn Scabbers the Rat into a goblet, and getting a goblet with fur 
and a rat's tail. Delightful}

CoS  seems to shy away from real emotion, to substitute bathos. It's almost a 
cartoon generated for the video game generation.

The movie almost seemed to be self-contained vignettes spliced together. It 
had no heart. It was pleasant and fun in spots, but not moving.

The best part of the movie were the sets, the visuals and the costumes. I 
eagerly anticipated seeing what people, places, and animals  "really looked 
like"….Knockturn Alley, Dumbledore's office, including the spiral staircase,  
Fawkes, (the phoenix), the Burrow (home of the Weasleys), Lucius Malfoy, the 
Flying Ford Anglia, (as an enchanted vehicle transforming into a self-aware 
entity), the Mandrakes, 

Specifically, many of the actors did a great job within self-contained 
vignettes. Alan Rickman as the not very nice at all Professor Snape, got more 
time, and was great.
He was particularly effective in the scene where he tries to put the blame on 
Harry for petrifying Filch's cat, and in the dueling scene. Kenneth Branagh 
was a stitch. His costumes were superb. His gloves in the dueling scene, his 
vests, his capes, the picture of him painting a picture of himself (moving in 
the best wizard style) were wonderful. I had not realized he was satirizing 
his own reputation as self-aggrandizing. He was a perfect Lockhart. 

David Bradley as Argus Filch was perfect  - "I'm going to kill you" he says 
to Harry when he believes Harry has tried to kill his cat, Mrs. Norris - and 
later petting the cat and crying in the great hall. 

Jason Isaacs was WONDEFUL as Lucius Malfoy (I can't understand how some were 
shocked at how evil he is - after all, he's a Death Eater!). His costumes 
were perfect.
His cane (concealing his wand), the buckles on his cloak, the black velvet 
ribbon tying his long silver hair back….terrific! He was convincingly nasty. 
(Again, I don't understand those who are surprised that Snape and Lucius 
treat Draco badly - where do you think evil people learn how to be evil?)

However, his beginning the Avada Kedavra curse against Harry is an example of 
how the screenplay makes mistake after mistake. Lucius is evil. His evil is 
deliberate and calculated. He is NOT going to perform one of the 
Unforgiveable Curses (penalty - a life sentence in Azkaban) on Harry Potter 
within the halls of Hogwarts. Even if Dumbledore would have allowed it 
(remember - Harry is safe at Hogwarts because he's under Dumbledore's special 
protection). It's not from the book. Why do it?

Another example of how the screenplay is faulty…when Ron and Harry are 
awaiting their fate re the Flying Ford Anglia, the movie has McGonagall 
rather than Dumbledore say the following:  "Not today, Mr. Weasley….I must 
also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice 
but to expel you." (quote is from the book). Then, of course, Dumbledore 
cannot say at the end.."I seem to remember telling you both that I would have 
to expel you if you broke any more school rules. Which goes to show that the 
best of us must sometimes eat our words." A wonderfully whimsical moment..

There is time in the movie for a very long spider sequence..This sequence is 
bad for a number of reasons. It's too long. The spiders pursuing the Anglia 
look as if someone is already calculating the profit from a PC or gameboy 
game. The portrayal of Ron borders on criminal (see below). There is time for 
Harry to be hanging from the Flying Ford Anglia…(your palms are sweaty - 
what's the point of including this). There is time for Percy to confront the 
fake Crabbe and Goyle and then Malfoy - this could easily have been skipped. 
There is time for injury to Malfoy in the Quidditch match (why didn't they 
leave it as written? It was plenty dramatic, and included Malfoy being 
scorned because he was laughing at Potter, while the Snitch was hovering 
around his ear). 

Yet many other scenes that would have been great are omitted. For example, 
the scene at the end where Arthur and Molly Weasley are at Hogwarts is left 
out. It would have been helpful to hear Arthur saying his wonderful line 
"Ginny! Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never 
trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its 
brains? Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious 
object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic ----" In addition to 
illustrating one of those self-evident truths that is only self evident in 
the magical world of Hogwarts, therefore, making that world more real to us) 
it foreshadows that Arthur is not just a bumbling, sweet old Dad guy, 
obsessed with Muggles in an eccentric way, but a powerful, important wizard 
who probably would have been Minister for Magic. This comes out in the Goblet 
of Fire as Dumbledore gathers his allies against Voldemort (the old crowd). 

The movie as stated above seems to shy away from some real emotion. Molly 
Weasley's lecture to her sons about stealing the car is not very convincing. 
Read the section in the book again…"..for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, 
it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger." The boys 
were really scared, not just looking subdued for show. Also, left out was 
Fred's muttering about Percy…

Also, left out was Arthur Weasley's punching Lucius Malfoy (I guess that that 
is too violent, whereas Harry consciously, deliberately stabbing Riddle's 
diary three times (which causes Riddle tremendous pain) in the chamber is 
okay - unlike the book where Harry "without thinking, without  considering…
.seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to him and plunged it straight 
into the heart of the book." I was really angry that Lucius Malfoy insults 
Hermione, Harry and all the Weasleys and gets no more than a stern look from 
Arthur Weasley. So..the film excises Arthur's socking Lucius, but 
manufactures scenes where Oliver Wood is thrown off his broom, and Draco 
Malfoy is injured at Quidditch. The scene from the book where Draco is 
ridiculed for taunting Potter while the Snitch was hovering over his ear is 
much better.

Oh, goodness, and when the Flying Ford Anglia is escaping with Harry, it 
almost sounds like the theme from E.T.!!!!

Chris Columbus should be shunned for what he did to Ron Weasley/Rupert Grint. 
Rupert was put through his paces like a performing bear - unlike the first 
movie, where he was delightful, he was forced to grimace and wail in the most 
unbecoming fashion.
I re-read the section of the CoS where they are meeting Aragog and the other 
spiders. Of course, Ron is terrified. If you read the books, you would know 
that his older brother changed his teddy bear into a spider, and he's been 
phobic/terrified of spiders ever since. But he does NOT behave in the book as 
he does in the movie…..he has become the bumbling, stupid Dr. Watson of the 
Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies…unlike the resourceful, brave Dr. Watson of 
the canon….I was disgusted by Harry's "shush" and "what!" in the movie. 
Awful.

Those who have not read the book would have a hard time. They would not have 
a clue why it was significant that Hagrid burst into Dumbledore's office with 
a dead rooster in his hand. 

Columbus annoyed me further by putting his daughter Eleanor in the movie as 
Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. In CoS, she is ubiquitous showing up standing 
next to someone at every opportunity. Ychhh….

Almost everyone agrees that Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter was better in this 
movie than the first (especially those who vociferously claim he was 
wonderful in the first). He was good in the scene with Fawkes when he was 
dying. But I wonder if someone keeps telling him "enunciate, enunciate". I 
didn't see much improvement.

Rowlings specifically portrays the children as children who are pre-sexual in 
this book. They don't become aware of each other sexually/romantically until 
the Goblet of Fire.
Yet, the screenplay decides that Hermione should hug Harry spontaneously but 
suddently become formal, with a handshake with Ron. Why? Also, there is that 
bathetic  scene where Harry is stroking Hermione's hand…ychhh..in the book, 
the boys don't bother to visit Hermione and only end up there because a visit 
to her has been used to distract Professor McGonagall from their rule 
breaking and real destination.

Dobby is the perfect House Elf, and the animation was great.  I think those 
drooling after Sean Biggerstaff  may decrease after this movie. Tom Felton 
(playing Draco Malfoy) had grown remarkably. He strode around the set with a 
fluid, serpentine grace, and his father did, too! He was unquestionably the 
most grown up member of the children's cast. 

Finally, for now, Richard Harris….was obviously tired and slow in this movie 
but Dumbledore's kindness and care shone through…may he rest in peace.


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