Half-baked 'Half-Blood Prince'

You’re in the office when open-mouthed Muggles witness ominous clouds form, you watch as three plumes of black smoke — Death Eaters in furious motion — catapult out of the sky, your stomach lurches as you speed with them at breakneck pace through the narrow alleys of London and you’re right there when they smash through the glass panes of a building before emerging with a struggling, hooded person. That’s the magic of the IMAX 3D version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’s opening sequence— you’re in the film.

The experience of coming face-to-face with the boy wizard  and Professor Dumbledore — is thrilling. For the first 15 minutes, the 3D version translates a vital part of the pleasure of reading into that of watching a film. One wishes this extended to other parts of the film, especially the Quidditch sequence and the one in which Dumbledore and Harry find the third Horcrux.

The atmosphere in Harry Potter 6 is suitably dark, indicative of the growing sway of the Dark Lord. However, the performances of Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) pale beside that of the fringe characters. Except for a few scenes, such as the one in he consumes love potion-laced chocolates meant for Harry, Ron’s acting seems insipid beside that of his cupid-struck girlfriend Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave). Yes, Lavender is meant to evoke laughter and yes, Ron is supposed to be more level-headed, but Jessie has been far more successful in getting into the skin of her character than Rupert. Evanna Lynch also does an admirable job of playing the dreamy Luna Lovegood. However, while Emma puts some life into her role, Daniel, in his effort to introduce subtlety in Harry’s character is a tad less successful.

On the other hand, the actors portraying the dark side shine in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Hero Flennes Tiffin as the 11 year old Tom Riddle who knows he has ‘powers’ and Frank Dillane as the 16 year old slick-tongued, manipulative Riddle act with finesse.  The Severus Snape of the book and that of the film are almost seamless, thanks to Alan Rickman, while Helena Bonham Carter adds drama as the shrieking Bellatrix.

To say that Michael Gambon as Dumbledore almost steals the show would be a cliché. Some of the most evocative scenes are his, such as the one in which he transforms into the vulnerable old man pleading with Harry not to feed him any more of the liquid covering the Horcruz. The one that follows, with him surrounded by spirals of towering flame protecting him and the boy wizard, reinstate why Voldemort fears Dumbledore. Joining Gambon’s rank is Jim Broadbent. With one arched brow and at times quivering jowls, he portrays Professor Horace Slughorn who has a penchant for ‘collecting’ star pupils as well as a dark secret, beautifully.  

The visual effects of Harry Potter 6 add another dimension to the film. Worth mentioning are the parts in the Pensieve where memories travel like ink dissolving in water only to materialise slowly into the solid forms of buildings, a cyclist riding a bike and an orphanage. The sequence after Dumbledore’s death in which the candles floating in the hall are extinguished all at once by Bellatrix after she blasts the stained glass window behind Dumbledore’s chair, plunging the place into symbolic darkness, speaks for itself.

True, converting a book into a film does pose its challenges, something David Yates should have become accustomed to by now. But instead of presenting a concise version of the book, what the audience is served are a number of deviations. One of the most glaring of these is the presence of Voldemort’s ring and Tom Riddle’s notebook, two Horcruxes which are destroyed in the book, in Dumbledore’s drawer in the movie. Moreover, the deviation doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose.

In fact, one of the greatest reasons for cinematic license while depicting a book on celluloid, namely, helping the uninitiated connect, doesn’t apply in many cases. People who haven’t read the book find themselves in the loop several times, especially since Voldemort hardly appears onscreen. Even the end, in which Harry moves the slain Dumbledore’s hair from his face and straightens his glasses, a scene that’s almost poetic in the book, isn’t half as poignant in the movie.


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