Some Suggested Improvements

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2002)

Spoiler Advisory: I describe details of several scenes, to make points about character development, mostly. But I do not reveal any significant plot elements. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a wonderful movie.
The people who made it did a superb job in bringing the story to life. The writing, the casting, the acting, the costumes, the art direction and set design are all first rate. My children and I have seen it more than once. Thank you Chris Columbus, thank you Steven Kloves, thank you all. Even such a well-made movie can be improved upon, though. The one element which I think is a weakness in the movie is its failure to properly evoke Harry's innermost thoughts and feelings. The two aspects of this, which were clear in the book but obscure in the movie, were his sense of wonder and astonishment at first encountering the realm of magic, and his fear at not knowing if he would fit in at Hogwarts, or be accepted into the social world of witches and wizards. In her book, JK Rowling could describe such emotions directly, through an omniscient narrator. In movies, that has to be done indirectly, usually through dialog. But for HP&SS this presents a problem. Harry, given his harsh upbringing by the Dursleys, is an externally passive, uncommunicative character. For him to convey his feelings so directly would be out of character -- it would not be Harry. Given this dilemma, the viewer often gets little sense of Harry's emotions, making him seem flat, harder to sympathize with. Normally, criticisms of this sort have a kind of after-the-fact pointlessness. Even if they wanted to, the movie makers cannot go back and reshoot the movie. But HP&SS is not a normal movie in that sense. It is the first in a series, and all the major participants are presumably under contract making the sequels. Thus if 20th Century Fox really wanted to, they could revise, and improve, HP&SS and issue it as a "special edition" DVD at little additional cost. So here are a few suggestions for making Sorcerer's Stone a better movie. At the first flying lesson, have Harry take a short preliminary flight, and have Madam Hooch comment on his natural ability. Then Harry could express surprise, turning into elation, at his unknown talent. At the end of the flying lesson, when Professor McGonagall hauls Harry away after his unauthorized flight, Harry could mutter fearfully to himself, "I'm going to be expelled, aren't I?" Professor McGonagall could reply noncommittally, "Well, you did violate Madam Hooch's orders, didn't you, Potter?" On his first night at Hogwarts, Harry sits alone in a window sill, petting Hedwig. What is he thinking? Nobody knows. Why not have him speak to Hedwig, asking her if she is happy at Hogwarts, getting along with the other owls? If Harry can't divulge his true feelings to other people, maybe he could hint at them to Hedwig. A later scene of Harry alone with Hedwig, letting her fly out from the snow-covered courtyard, is similarly an emotional blank spot. Harry encounters Professor Dumbledore at the mirror of Erised. Besides just discussing the mirror and its dangers, why doesn't Dumbledore ask Harry how he's feeling? Harry could be reluctant to reply, but Dumbledore could get at it indirectly, but talking about Harry's mother, who being muggle-born, would also have had a hard time adapting to life at Hogwarts. A reaction shot could show Harry turning away, trying not to cry. On a different note, Neville's accident at the first flying lesson does not work quite right. When he falls from the spear, then falls again from the brazier, it doesn't look right. It's not a human body, it doesn't accelerate right. But more importantly, the scene wrongly depicts Neville in a slapstick way, as someone to laugh at. But Neville, although hapless, is not a fool. He is a sympathetic character. He ought to fall off his broom straight to the ground, from high enough up to evoke fright and pity. What do you think, Chris Columbus and Steven Kloves? Why not extend shooting on Chamber of Secrets a few days, and make HP&SS a little bit better movie? My children would appreciate it if you did.