“You need a shave,” says
Albus Dumbledore (Michael
Gambon) to Harry Potter
(Daniel Radcliffe) during a late scene in
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince—and
damned if there isn’t a trace of stubble
shadowing the lad’s chin. And, there’s a
pitch-perfect tone to Gambon’s delivery—
not chiding, but with an almost wistful
disbelief that this could be the same pink-cheeked
boy who was plucked six years
earlier from a cupboard under the stairs
into the middle of a magical civil war.
Eight years and six films into the Harry
Potter films series, it’s undeniable that a lot
of the pleasure comes from an accumulation,
the experience of watching children
become young men and women before our
eyes. J.K. Rowling’s books created a witty,
magnificent mythology, but at their core,
they were always fundamentally about
growing up from innocence to experience
and responsibility. Harry Potter and the
Half-Blood Prince shows the films continuing
to mature just as its protagonists
are, with all the humor, awkwardness and
heartbreak that such a journey entails.
The Death Eaters are still on the march
as a new school year begins at Hogwart’s,
and everyone seems to have a secret agenda.
Dumbledore cajoles retired instructor
Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) back to
work at Hogwart’s for an unknown purpose;
Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) has been
recruited into a secret mission by the other
servants of Voldemort, including Bellatrix
Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter). Even
Harry’s frayed copy of his potions textbook
presents a mystery, with its copious marginalia
attributed to “The Half-Blood Prince.”
Everyone would seem to have quite a lot on
his or her plate simply trying to stay alive.
These are, however, 16-year-olds we’re
talking about and, as such, they tend
to have their minds on other things, as
well. Screenwriter Steve Kloves spends a
lot of time on the characters’ burgeoning
romances, as Hermione (Emma
Watson) fends off the advances of self-absorbed
Cormac McLaggen (Freddie
Stroma) while fretting over seeing
Ron (Rupert Grint) find a girlfriend. Harry,
meanwhile, gets twitterpated over Ron’s
younger sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright).
Director David Yates—returning from
Order of the Phoenix—effectively guides his
young cast through tricky territory, making
their frustrated fumblings as endearing
as they are uncomfortable to watch.
And, it continues to be a delight following
the three lead actors grow into their
roles and play off one another so naturally.
Only-children Harry and Hermione spar
like the brother and sister neither one
ever had, becoming confidantes when both
are low; Ron’s good-natured obliviousness
provides the ideal comic-relief fulcrum. It’s
a pleasure, too, visiting again with Hagrid
(Robbie Coltrane), McGonagall (Maggie
Smith) and Snape (Alan Rickman)—even as
newcomer Broadbent continues the tradition
of Hogwart’s guest faculty stealing the
show—but the central trio hold their own.
There’s so much good will built into their
interactions that a smart filmmaker probably
just needs to get out of the way.
There is, of course, always the problem
of condensing when it comes to Rowling’s
increasingly massive volumes. In the first
two films, Kloves seemed too concerned
with packing in plot details for the books’
fans but, like the series itself, he has
relaxed and grown. Half-Blood Prince is far
less dense with magical action than its predecessors,
and perhaps that makes it feel
mostly like a stage-setter for the finale that
will be Deathly Hallows. Yet, it’s so rich with
characterization that it scarcely matters.
Hardcore Potter-ites know, of course,
that Half-Blood Prince concludes with a
spoiler-iffic plot development, and in fairness
to those few who remain unaware, it’s
best not to name it. But even the way the
film builds to that moment shows how keenly
Kloves and Yates are aware that it fits into
Harry’s maturation into manhood. This is a
dark and foreboding tale, filled with plenty
of disturbing images—including the hexing
of a young student that plays like a demonic
possession, and an attack by a swarm of
creatures a bit too reminiscent of Lord of the
Rings’ Gollum—that make the switch back
from Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix’s
PG-13 to PG seem as arbitrary as it is befuddling.
Harry Potter’s story at this point isn’t
one for children any more—just as it isn’t a
story about children any more.
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Rated PG