Well done Cuarón...

Rating: 8/10 (10 December 2005)

I don't feel the need of writing about Harry Potter movies. I have read the books, I have been (in my mind) inside the magical world, I have witnessed the experiencesNow I'll try to write about the third part of J.K Rowling's fantasy. Why this and not any of the others? Probably because it is the best movie (not novel) of the first three and because I plan to write about the others eventually.
People have asked me why I think this one's the best, as in asking for reasons. I don't know if I can give a list of things that define this one as the better one. I can explain it saying that it's something you sense; on the whole. This is a well rounded project in all of its parts; and it's not even perfect.
Anyway, here I go with everything I think; like it or not. Alfonso Cuarón is a truly gifted filmmaker. "A little princess" is one of the most wonderful things I've seen in my life, it still amazes me today; "Y tu mamá también" has no shameMaybe that gift made him take Harry Potter from where it needed to be taken.
So he grabbed his work strictly from the view of film-making. I explain: in the first two deliveries, Chris Columbus took a commitment with Rowling's story; Cuarón took a commitment with the plain fact of making a movie. What he chose is much darker, obscure, and mysterious; apart from Columbus' shining universe.
There are deep moving issues in the novels, and Columbus knew it, but didn't show it; now there are long talks about the characters' past. The screenplay is shorter and not so "by the book" as the last two; which explains clearly the freedom Cuarón took for the film. There's an intense development of personalities, which is a positive aspect for every element of the movie.
Take the young actors that this is just as the only thing they've done in their lives and I still can't say if they've got the skill. Daniel Radcliffe's character actually faces his past for the first time in this film, and that requires a different approach. Rupert Grint's character has to deal with problems of the heart; with feelings. Emma Watson's character takes the helm of everything, has to handle a different kind of responsibility; and they all have to reach other levels.
A blessing is to see the ensemble coming to life. A blessing is to imagine and think about the actors that will play the characters you've met in the book. A blessing was to see Emma Thompson in a wonderful portrayal as Professor Trelawney, to meet Sirius Black in the skin of a curly-haired Gary Oldman and meet the revelation of the journey David Thewlis portraying R.J Lupin. Plus, Alan Rickman's Snape is better every minute; Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith maintain the class and Robbie Coltrane keeps his fun going.
Not to mention the visualsTo achieve his perfect world, Cuarón recurred to his old editing collaborator Steven Weisberg, who got his vision perfectly, taking everything to the sky. The cinematography by Michael Seresin is also a remarkable; in the best representation of this tale that has been able to keep one thing going during its three deliveriesFrame by frame, shot by shot, moment by moment, nothing stays still; there's always some element that connects the image with another thing to keep a continuous movement.
Look closely.