I am continually impressed by the casting of the “Harry Potter” series. The kids look and sound great, just like I imagined them as I was reading, but the adults are the real treasures. Too many movies about children leave the adults as faceless, uninteresting, undeveloped caricatures, while “Potter” has cast virtuoso performers in the adult roles, and given them the attention they deserve. Who could be more evil than Alan Rickman as Snape? More stern but good-hearted than Maggie Smith? More old, wise, and mysterious than (the late) Richard Harris? Even the smaller supporting roles look perfect. Character actor Robbie Coltrane looks the part as the burly gameskeeper. I could go on…Kenneth Branagh as pompous fame-seeker Gilderoy Lockheart does well, although I wish he had hammed it up even more. (Personally, as I read the book I imagined Lockheart played by Tom Baker a la “Doctor Who” circa 1978. Alas, we can’t always get what we want, but the voice of the giant spider did play Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, in the same episode of “Doctor Who” that featured a cameo by John Cleese. Yeah, I’m a big nerd.)
A plot summary of “The Chamber of Secrets” is hardly necessary. For those unfamiliar with the world author J.K. Rowling has constructed, there exists an entire culture of magic hidden just beyond our view. Suffice it to say Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts, the school for young witches and wizards to learn about spells and potions. There he discovers more about his mysterious family history while tracking down an unknown evil-doer who’s been attacking students. His friends are still his friends, his enemies are still his enemies, there’s an admirable moral at the end, and it’s all a lot of fun. “The Chamber of Secrets” is deeper than “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” if for no other reason than because we know the characters so well after two movies. The ending is a little too sentimental and seems to have an inordinate amount of focus on a minor character, but this hardly spoils the film as a whole. (A friend with much more Potter knowledge than myself suggested that the last scene is a setup for something that will happen in the following books/movies. In principle, I don’t like that; if it doesn’t fit into the present story, it shouldn’t be there, but like I said, it didn’t really hurt anything.)
Chris Columbus, who also directed “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” is once again efficient but exciting. At almost three hours, “The Chamber of Secrets” doesn’t feel as long as it is. I heard of a mother taking her child to this film, worried that it would be too long for her daughter to enjoy, but the child’s first reaction after watching it was to mention everything that had been left out. I have a hunch most child fans will feel this way.
WHAT MY ARROGANT HUSBAND THINKS: “I had to work late the night My Damn Wife got to see ‘The Chamber of Secrets.’ I hate capitalism.”
Finished November 23, 2002
Copyright © 2002 Friday & Saturday Night