An exciting ride into Magicland

Film review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

It is most unfortunate that The Chamber of Secrets is the last Harry Potter movie directed by Chris Columbus because it would be very difficult for anybody else to surpass what he accomplished with the second novel of the bestselling series.

On his first time out in The Sorcerer’s Stone, Columbus was weighed down with the tall order of having to lay down the ground-work for the film version of the famous books. That means doing the introductions: the characters, the out of the ordinary boarding school, Hogwarts, the game of Quidditch; the assorted spells and so many other items; the names of some of which only recently made it to everyday vocabulary; and most difficult of all, the exposition of the prior events that lead to the story.

To top it all, Columbus was saddled with having to work with the supposition that those watching his movie have not read the books. Hence, everything must be presented clearly to them from a blank slate. On the other extreme he also had to contend with the nearly fanatical followers of the J.K. Rowlings novels who expect to find everything they read in the book, including warts and crooked teeth translated faithfully into the screen.

The result was exciting eye candy which won the nod from all Harry Potter purists. Columbus brought the most memorable sequence from the book to vivid life on the screen in an easy to understand manner. This however, came at the expense of the darker themes of racism, child abuse, childhood insecurities, bullying and other things kids left on their own like Harry Potter must contend with. Everybody agreed that The Sorcerer’s Stone was nice but could have been better.

Now, with all the necessary rigmarole already laid to rest in the first film Columbus was left with just the story of The Chamber of Secrets to work with. And boy, did he hit his stride! Showing absolute mastery of the tale, he takes moviegoers on an exciting ride into a land of magical adventure so grand and so inventive, you cannot help but marvel at the way everything was put together.

The Chamber of Secrets is about Harry Potter’s second year in wizard school. He meets up with his friend Ron and Hermione and they soon find out that their perceived familiarity with Hogwarts has only opened more mysteries to solve. Foremost among these is a strange spell that freezes the students or as they say at Hogwarts, renders them petrified. Harry is seen by many as the main suspect. So to clear himself, he must find out who is casting the spell. Of course he solves the mystery and in the process gets to find out more about himself and the people and events that led to the death of his parents and the dreaded Voldermort.

Hogwarts is the crown jewel of the piece. Production designer Stuart Craig, who also did the first film, outdid himself in this one. I hope he gets to do all of the other Harry Potter films. Not all the fairy tales and legends and Disney films prepared one for the superb attention to detail with which he fashioned Hogwarts and every intriguing item in it. It is no wonder then that the viewer gets so caught up in what secrets are kept within.

On the same superior level is the way Columbus presents the Quidditch match. Just as the players have supposedly grown in technique and speed after their first year on the field, so have the filmmakers. Watching it brings on the thought that if there is one thing that will drive muggles like us to learning how to make broomsticks fly, it will be Quidditch. Can you just imagine Quidditch matches on ESPN and every playground?

It also helps that the child actors have grown into their roles. Heartthrob in the making Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, the perfect bumbling but oh so cute best friend Ruper Grint as Ron and the emerging beauty Emma Watson as Hermione are now poised, natural performers. Now that there is more for him to do, Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy is every bit as cunning and slimy as the best villains ever seen in the movies. I can’t wait to get them into Goblet of Fire where love relationships will invade Hogwarts.

There is also the supporting cast of excellent performers led by the late Richard Harris as the venerable Dumbledore and Robbie Coltrane as the cuddly Hagrid now augmented by new additions like Kenneth Branagh as the conceited teacher Gilderoy Lockhart and the very funny Miriam Margolyes as Prof. Sprout. These acting veterans seem to have taken their roles to heart. It must really be a thrill bringing these famous characters to the screen. No Oscar awaits any of them for this one but they are now part of the one of the most successful franchise films of all time that will delight moviegoers for generation on end.

The only problem I see in The Chamber of Secrets is that its monsters, (giant spiders) ghosts, (Freaklin Myrtle) and animals, (a basilisk) are much too fearsome and realistic for younger kids. The terrors that now confront Harry are also darker than before. The movie is also quite long at 162 minutes. This is no childhood fantasy. It is instead a first-rate adventure thriller. Well, the kiddies will just have to grow up some more before they experience this treat if you are worried about terrified cries in the night. They will just have to allow adults like us to savor the wonders of this film.