It is extremely difficult, if not
impossible, to translate a book into a movie. The problem has to do with
one's imagination: words in a book conjure up images that are highly
personal and subjective, and any attempt by a third party to lend form
to them ends up disappointing. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is
no exception in this regard, but fortunately, the imagery presented is
awesome and wondrous in its own right.
The
film is made strictly by the book: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), a
young boy mistreated by his foster family, learns that he is special and
comes of age... in the Hogwart's School of Magic (!) where he learns
wizardry, plays Quidditch and fights an evil despotic wizard (who does
not turn out to be his father).
While
the movie stays fastidiously true to Joanne Rowling's book, perhaps one
of the best adaptations ever, the adage that a picture is worth a
thousand words doesn't hold true here. For the most part, from the
initial victory of the baby Harry Potter upto the Quidditch match, a lot
of the details are skipped. What we're presented with is a jump from
one scene to another (sometimes too quickly) that illustrates with
painstaking effort the magical realm that Rowling has constructed in her
series. For example, while the opening sequence shows Professor Albus
Dumbledore (Richard Harris) turning out the lights in a street,
Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith) changing to her true form from being
a cat, and Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) bringing Harry on his flying
motorcycle, we're not really shown the celebration of Lord Voldemort's
fall. This isn't criticism but just an observation; in fact, I think
doing this is especially okay if one is familiar with the Harry Potter
books, but it does impart a sense of urgency in the beginning portions
of the film.
I
marvelled at how technology enabled the film makers to make possible
the wonders of Harry's world, including Diagon Alley and Gringotts Bank,
the moving pictures, Hogwarts Castle, the Sorting Hat (Leslie
Phillips), the ghosts in the Castle (including a cameo by John Cleese),
Fluffy the three-headed dog, the ugly troll, and so on. I believe that
it is technology that makes the Harry Potter film authentic, in the same
way as in the X-Men or the How the Grinch Stole Christmas movies, by
letting at least the imagination of a few people come to life as
vibrantly as possible. Most of what I imagined and what was projected on
the screen weren't really colinear, but it was still cool, incredibly
so at times, to watch.
The
movie, however, picked up with the first Quidditch match where Harry,
on a broomstick, plays the position of a Seeker after the Golden Snitch,
a particularly hard-to-catch ball, which is key to winning a game. The
inspired depiction of the game meshed with my imagination extremely
well, and from there on, the story of Harry's second encounter with the
dark Lord Voldemort (Richard Bremmer) enfolded in a less fragmented and
more cohesive manner. The final confrontation, and what Harry and his
friends have to do get there, is a delight to watch.
For
those paying attention, the main change from the book has to do with
how Hagrid's dragon is disposed of and the resulting consequences. The
ghosts also play a smaller role here though given the movie's running
time, I'm not surprised parts like those were omitted.
The
actors playing the young leads give decent performances, with Emma
Watson as the know-it-all Hermione Granger standing out. The adult
actors aren't given much time but they all present solid performances.
The score by John Williams is simple but effective. The set design,
cinematography, and visuals are impressive. Director Chris Columbus does
a great job of bringing to the big screen the Enid Blyton-like
atmosphere that Rowling's books exude.
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a great movie to watch. I viewed it
from the perspective of someone who is intimately familiar with the
books, and I believe there is strong merit to watching it being
completely unfamiliar with the story, a choice I do not have given that
I've read the four books a few times. Definitely check it out on the big
screen and make sure you goto the bathroom before.
