Instead of spoiler space, a bit of seemingly OT (OK, "seemingly" is REALLY
tenuous) :-) waffle...
When I last posted on Monday evening, I said I was planning to see the
movie again yesterday. As it happens, I had a heavy movie day, but no HP. I
saw Troy, which was another stupendously-directed movie based on classic
piece of writing (hey, you don't get more classic than Homer!) which was
dreadfully adapted. (OK, that's a really tenuous connection to PoA, but a
better connection to the Potterverse is that Menelaus was played by Brendan
Gleeson, soon to become our very own Mad Eye Moody - bloody brilliant
choice, BTW!)
I cleansed my palate with Almodovar's latest, La Mala Educación ("Bad
Education"), a story with at least two timelines, all about school friends
surrounded by blokes wearing robes... The main star of this film is one
Gael García Bernal, who was one of the stars of... Y tu Mama Tambien, which
as we all know was the previous work of one Alfonso Cuaron. So on my return
home I had to watch the DVD of that...
Today I went to see Mr Cuaron's latest oeuvre, which is what we're here to
talk about (right now PS/SS is running on the DVD at the other side of the
room and I'm shuddering)... And thus I have gone full circle. ;-) Oh, and
I've also leafed through my copy of PoA and listened to the soundtrack (in
fact, I did both at the same time), so I'm now a bit clearer on a few details.
Some of these comments are stuff I wanted to say on Monday but didn't get
around to, and some of them are replies to comments made by others without
quoting the originals. These comments are more rambling than my previous
offering, although I'm going to steer clear of any obvious spoilers.
Having watched Y Tu Mama Tambien again last night, the smutty part of my
brain couldn't shake the feeling that Cuaron was trying to tell us
something with the opening sequence of PoA: a teenage boy practicing his -
ahem - "wandwork" under the bedclothes at night... :-) (those who've seen
the movie will know that the scene doesn't play exactly as per the book)
I'm now 98% certain (it was about 50% on Monday; I won't be able to be any
more certain until I have a DVD and can watch in slo-mo) that the show
Dudley is watching on TV in the Dursleys' living room is "The Generation Game".
If I'm right, someone on the production team is being very, very clever by
suggesting it to Cuaron (he wouldn't know the show from Adam). The
reference is, of course, completely lost on all non-Brits and the title of
the show - the only element of any significance - can have meaning only to
those who know the book.
(For more about this show, see e.g.
http://www.ukgameshows.com/atoz/programmes/g/generation_game/ - when *did*
Jim Davidson host the show? - it was a fairly clear shot of his mug that
first got me onto this.)
Of course, it's a pity that as they have a TV (in fact, multiple TVs) on
during the scene, they didn't follow the book more closely and have the
news on (with or without sound) the news report about Sirius's escape. Yet
another lost opportunity.
Several people have pointed out as a continuity error the fact that Harry's
scar appears over his left (rather than right) eyebrow during the Boggart
DADA class. I was 90% sure of this on Monday, but now it's 100% (I paid
attention while watching the movie today) - sorry would-be eagle-eyes,
there's nothing wrong with the shot or makeup - the shot is a reflection in
the wardrobe mirror. True, this is complicated a little by the fact that
the camera then appears to go "through" the mirror and the image loses the
imperfections of the sides of the antique mirror, but technically it
remains a mirror image.
A few comments on Super!Hermione: I think I'm going to have to defend her
just a *little*. Because of the insertion of the Firebolt stuff at the end
rather than in the middle, we lose the book's "insufferable Hermione"
phase, which whilst it could have acted as a counterweight to "know-it-all
Hermione", would have given her even more of a function in the movie, and
made her out to be even more insufferable. Yes, Hermione had a significant
part to play in the denouement, but then she had to, as she was the one in
possession of the Time-Turner. As for her breaking of the "rules" of the
Time-Turner, I didn't see that as a problem. The injunction had been (not
only in the movie, but in the book as well) not to be SEEN. There was no
specific injunction against interacting with the past - in any case, this
would be completely pointless. So she throws the stones and throws a
wolf-call - big deal. In a way, what she's doing, as the "experienced"
Time-Turner user, is indicating to Harry that it's possible to help their
past selves, which is ultimately what he has to do with the Patronus.
Some have complained of a change in attitude in her departure from
Trelawney's class. I must disagree. Yes, Trelawney is just a little more
eloquent here than she is in the book, and I loved her last words to
Hermione, accusing her not of being "mundane" but of having a "heart that
is as dried as the pages of the books to which you so desperately cleave"
is, from her perspective, true. The way I read the scene in the book,
Hermione is exasperated and insulted. Trelawney's new lines insult not only
her, but the books to which she *does* cleave. Hermione's motives for
leaving remain the same.
Indeed, I see PoA!Hermione very much in the line already established: she's
good with the books, but as herself admits by implication towards the end
of PS/SS, there's more to skill as a great wizard (and great person) than
books and study - she is basically insecure and needs the certainly that
books and those in authority give her to remain stable. Hence also her
unwillingness to disparage teachers regardless of her liking for them as
people. Trelawney, however, has gone a step too far by questioning the
validity of books and intellectual prowess.
In a way, Trelawney (and what she stands for) is an anti-Hermione:
intuition -v- intellect, skill -v- learning, etc. Hermione is willing to
admit to her preference, but she is not willing to have it disregarded
completely.
There have been complaints about the messy uniforms in this movie (yes,
this *is* a Hermione point). The messy uniforms are quite subtle, actually.
In Snape's class (and Trelawney's first class as well), the kids are
properly dressed, although not every top shirt button is done up. For
Hagrid's lesson, however, they let themselves go - I actually liked this
subtle hint at the pupils' attitutes towards their teachers. I also liked
the fact that, just as in all schools I've seen, while pupils have to wear
the same uniform, they underline their individuality by each tying their
tie in some original fashion (regardless of the tidiness or otherwise of
the rest of their attire). I found this a refreshing change from
Columbus's lines of Hogwarts pupils lines up with perfectly (and
identical) straight ties, with the exception of Ron, who almost always had
*something* wrong with his shirt or cloak.
What I *do* object to, though, is that Hermione has her shirt-tails fully
out of her skirt for a lesson. I just don't see that in Hermione's
character, regardless of the teacher.
this post is getting long enough, so I'll end with a reflection on what I
would have done with the script in a couple of instances. I've spent a bit
of time thinking about the list of (IMO) important stuff left out of the
movie which I posted, and I've come to the realisation that most of these
could have been fixed very simply (and perhaps even more dramatically than
in the book), and this makes me very angry indeed. If I could come up with
the following scenario(s), then the very highly-paid Kloves & Co certainly
should have done.
1. Identification of James & Co as "Messrs MWPP" and of the stag Patronus
as James.
a) When Sirius tells Ron that Scabbers is Peter, one extra line of
dialogue: "You called that rat 'Scabbers'? Well, we knew him as 'Wormtail'"
(rest of dialogue as per screenplay, perhaps with all references to 'Peter'
being replaced with 'Wormtail' - also foreshadowing GoF).
b) When they're in the tunnel and Sirius is telling Harry that "I could
live with the tail..." he could finish off with something like "... but I
don't know if I'd have liked to be known as 'Padfoot' for the rest of my
days" (a slight foreshadowing/mirroring of GoF and OotP).
c) When Harry has his final chat with Lupin and has the first sight of the
names on the map since finding out Sirius's and Peter's aliases and Lupin's
"condition", Harry comes to the realisation *himself* of who the authors of
the map are, with dialogue along the lines of "Of course! Wormtail...
Padfoot.... You're Moony! My Dad was Prongs! He transformed into a stag! My
Patronus....! so *that's* how you knew how to operate the Map - You
co-wrote it!" - just to make sure even the youngest members of the audience
have got the message, but without bashing them on the head with it (the
book is just a bit *too* heavy with this info).
Were those three extra lines added to the script, I would have been much
happier about this movie. Whilst I'm not a huge Snape-fan, I do understand
his importance to the overall plot but, again, one extra line from him when
he faces Sirius would have saved the day, and established that they were in
the same year. As has been said, the quartet of actors don't in any way
appear to be the same age and this fact NEEDED to be stated in the script.
I could have lived without specific mention of the Prank, but something
like "you and your friends insulted me too many times when we together in
class. Revenge is sweet", would have been sufficient for me. Especially
when delivered by Rickman.
And the same goes for the other issues I raised. One, or at most two, lines
would have been sufficient to establish each of the relevant facts and
background.
I'm prepared to sacrifice the entirety of Snape's outburst in the
Infirmary, but I would have expected just a little more in the Shrieking
Shack. As I've said several times over the last year or so since casting
was confirmed, I've been looking forward to Rickman and Oldman chewing the
scenery from around each other. This was a wonderful opportunity, and now
it's lost. I just hope there's more in the Deleted Scenes on the DVD when
it eventually surfaces...
I had planned to say a lot more, but I've got carried away (as usual) and
hope to have more to say tomorrow (if anyone wants to hear it).