Spoilers ahoy.
Adaptation is a tricky business. Taking a book - over 600 pages long, imagine - and condensing it into a coherent 2 1/2 hour movie. And consider a book is so beloved that no matter what you cut out, no matter how tiny the change, someone will be upset.
This has always been the issue for the Harry Potter movies. Inevitably, things must be left out of the stories J.K. Rowling told, particularly as her books grew longer and more complex as the series unfolded. Sometimes these changes were barely noticed, or even welcomed. (I haven't heard a lot of lamenting over the loss of the ongoing S.P.E.W. plot, for example.) On the other hand, you have the fact that I'm still annoyed that no one could be bothered to properly explain the Marauder's Map in the third film.
I felt that the fifth movie, The Order of the Phoenix, was a nice balancing act - in fact, my love of the film managed to make me reconsider the book, which up until that point I had enjoyed the least. Because of my relative apathy towards that particular Potter book, I also had only read it once prior to seeing the film and was fuzzy on the details, which made changes less glaringly obvious. I thought it was a good strategy for enjoying the film in its own right, and accordingly I haven't read Half-Blood Prince in two years (although I did listen to the audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry last fall), hoping to open-minded about what was included in the film.
However, it's my favorite of the books, and it's hard to forget the details I loved. I tried to go in with muted expectations, because disappointment seemed inevitable. And even considering my aversion to spoilers, I was aware of certain omissions (notably several of the memory sequences, Dumbledore's funeral, and the fight at Hogwarts) so that they wouldn't catch me off-guard and spoil my enjoyment .
And yet, I still left the theater feeling vaguely unfulfilled. I can't say the movie wasn't good. The acting was the best yet in the series; the funny sequences particularly let the younger actors shine (Radcliffe's almost-drunken Felix Felicis attitude; Grint's reaction to the love potion). The veteran actors acquitted themselves nicely as usual, with Gambon's vulnerable work in the cave as a particular high point. I laughed a lot. I thought the special effects looked effortless.
And yet - it's really not my Half-Blood Prince, is it? I read with some apprehension the buzz about this being a lighter, funnier, more romantic Potter film. Now, granted, the romance is heightened in this book, as I recall (given, again, that it's been two years since I read it) - but are people really into Harry Potter for the romance? I consider myself a romantic, but I was never bothered by whether or not Ron and Hermione would acknowledge their feelings for one another, and I could only roll my eyes at the seemingly tacked-on matchup of Harry and Ginny.
Clearly, not why I love the book. I must be honest, I've always enjoyed the series's gradual descent into darkness. As I recall it, the state of things in Half-Blood Prince is pretty grim. At least as dark as Order of the Phoenix, especially given that Harry is grappling with the death of Sirius. (I did appreciate the invented attack on the Burrow* because it helped the audience recall that fact - otherwise, outside of an offhand remark of Slughorn's early in the film, he was already forgotten.)
Part of Harry's grief over Sirius's death in the book translates into his obsessive interest in the actions of one Draco Malfoy. ("You're getting a bit obsessed with Malfoy, Harry," Ron actually says.) The film does show him monitoring Malfoy, which, as we know, is quite well deserved. But it never really seemed all that serious to me - more as though he were watching Draco as a little hobby of his, something to do every now and then when it occurred to him. In the book it seems more purposeful - and really, there is no better word than obsessive. It was a little dark.
And speaking of Draco - oh, Draco. We're not supposed to like him; Rowling has flat out said as much. And I truly didn't for the first 5 books. But how can you not feel for him in this story? It's actually a bit sad to realize that Draco is so alone, under such unbearable pressure, and he's still villainized. I mean, one must at least pity him. He's weak, certainly, but he's not evil, and although he's done a lot of terrible things, he is still a boy. A boy raised by Lucius Malfoy**, at that.
His situation is all the more affecting in the film, where we see Draco skulking about or lost in thought in class, always alone, obviously troubled. Are there no other professors with any interest in Draco at all besides Snape? I guess there aren't psychological guidelines for teachers at Hogwarts, because he's so clearly off that it really is a wonder that only Harry and Snape notice - and in a school that's supposed to be on high alert for Tom Riddles in the making! Yes, I suppose I've taken that bit too seriously; it's what happens when an author creates a world in which one can become so invested. On a brighter note, I did enjoy that the film actually allowed us to see Draco mending the vanishing cabinet. And we saw his dark mark - brr!
I could go on for quite a bit longer - haven't even touched on Tom Riddle, brilliantly cast at both ages; the introduction of Narcissa Malfoy; the eerie extinguished candles in the Great Hall, courtesy of Narcissa's delightfully evil sister, Bellatrix - but I think this is more than enough for now. I imagine I'll see this one again - some time, not right away. Apparently my imagination is more vivid than I realized, because my own conception of the terror of the cave or the suspense in the events at the Astronomy Tower (which seemed hopelessly cluttered to me, incidentally) is unmatched by what I saw today. It is, after all my criticism, a good film, but it is one more case in which the book is the superior offering.
*Let's ignore the fact that as soon as the Burrow caught on fire, I wondered about the location of Harry's Potions book. A book that he was so devoted to - would he have left it at school, even for the holiday? We'll have to assume that was the case, as otherwise we would have to think he had it on his person at all times, which is a bit peculiar. Although I just checked the book, and he definitely brought it to the Burrow in that version of the story - and also met with Scrimgeour, whom I'd completely forgotten about and whom I'm most eager to meet, I hope in the next film.
**Who else missed Lucius? I know he's not in this story, but I can't wait to see him again - quite looking forward to seeing Malfoy Manor.
No comments:
Post a Comment