Susan Granger’s review of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (Warner Bros.)
It’s Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and a notorious murderer, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), has escaped from Azkaban prison and is, apparently, looking for Harry. On his trail are the Dementors, sinister guards who suck people’s souls from their bodies. To add to the confusion, Prof. Sybill Trelawney (Emma Thompson) spies a “grim” omen of death, while Prof. Lupin (David Thewlis) may be hiding more than he’s revealing. Plus, Harry befriends Buckbeak, a half-eagle/half-horse “hippogriff,” and is given a Marauder’s Map. Screenwriter Steve Kloves weaves it all together, cleverly condensing J.K. Rowling’s novel, but it’s Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron who subtly guides Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) through the scary perils of puberty, including anxiety about identity, self-confidence and acceptance. They’re sullen, hostile and confrontational, behaving like – well – 13 year-olds. (Remember Cuaron’s acclaimed “Y Tu Mama Tambien” was about sexual awakening.) The trio of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint are aging convincingly, along with their target audience. Michael Gambon takes over the role of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, making it his own after the death of Richard Harris, joining Robbie Coltrane’s gentle giant Hagrid, Alan Rickman’s sinister Prof. Snape and Maggie Smith’s affable Prof. McGonagall. The richly detailed visuals, splendid CGI (i.e.: the hippogriff and the werewolf) and score weave a spell of their own, while the edgy camerawork suits the darker, grittier aspect of the foreboding storyline. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” is an enchanted 10. It’s a dazzling, magical cinematic experience.
