Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

None of the Harry Potter films are finer than the second installment, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” It is in this film, Chris Columbus’s second and final as the director of the series, that there was an absolute perfect balance of magic, innocence, and darkness. Some of the Harry Potter films before and since were too childish (like “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” the first) or too dark and/or boring (like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which is, as of early 2010, the most recent). It seems that of the six films so far, it is “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” that receive the most appreciation. Along with “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” “The Chamber of Secrets” currently receives the lowest ratings of the films on IMDb. Alfonso Cuarón’s “Prisoner of Azkaban” does come a close second to Columbus’s “Chamber of Secrets” in my opinion, and Mike Newell’s “Goblet of Fire” is exciting yet a bit boring (but was elevated due to Ralph Fiennes’s awesome presence as Voldemort). However, “The Chamber of Secrets” still reigns as the most enjoyable and magical of them all.

Harry Potter, despite a successful first year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, is still living in the household of his uncle (Richard Griffiths) and aunt (Fiona Shaw), who proclaim that Harry should be grateful to them for giving him, among other things, their son’s second bedroom. Harry is warned by a house elf named Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) not to return to school, for there are malevolent plots against him. Harry insists that he return, and is rescued by his friend Ron (Rupert Grint) and Ron's brothers in a flying car. The one who is plotting against Potter is of course the one “whose name must not be spoken”—Voldemort, who appears in the film but not in his snake-like appearance that was later brilliantly portrayed by Fiennes.

The film also saw two new great roles—the incompetent and narcissistic professor Gilderoy Lockhart and Draco Malfoy’s (Tom Felton) sinister father Lucious Malfoy—and two great actors to play the roles, Kenneth Branagh and Jason Isaacs as Lockhart and Malfoy respectively. Lockhart is not at first necessarily a bad person, wishing Harry good luck before he duels with Draco. He seems concerned for the children, at least somewhat, and rushes to help Harry when he is injured. Of course, he is probably doing this to benefit his own reputation, and his magic heals Harry’s injury yet simultaneously turns his arm boneless and flabby. “Ah, yes, well, that can sometimes happen,” he explains. “But the point is you can no longer feel any pain and it’s very clear that the bones are no longer broken.” Much in the Potter films are not initially understood, and so Lockhart therefore has a more cunning background as revealed near the climax of the film. Branagh, the man who diligently and meticulously brought “Hamlet” to full life in 1996, looks like he is having unlimited fun. Isaacs as well, who played the villain in “The Patriot” two years before and later the greatest of them all—Captain Hook in “Peter Pan”—is terrific in the film.

The film series, and the world, would have to say goodbye to Richard Harris, who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. Harris died only several weeks before the release of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” and there was a profound sense of respect and awe for the late Harris and the aurora of his personality in his final performance. He was replaced for the later films by Michael Gambon.

This film works like a great detective story, with John Williams’ eerie music accompanying a group of spiders that exits the stage as each victim is “petrified.” The events are not clear to Harry or the audience at this point, but students are being petrified, or stunned, by an apparent monster hidden in the secret Chamber of Secrets, which was established by the wizard Salazar Slytherin. Slyhterin believed the school should be more selective of which students were accepted. Because of this, Harry and his friends believe that Malfoy and his family are up to it. Harry also discovers the diary of a Tom Malvo Riddle, and the diary can communicate with him. It visualizes for Harry the mysterious events that took place fifty years ago at Hogwarts. In this episode, Harry sees the mysterious Tom Riddle (Christian Coulson), whose fate is later explained.

Williams’ score demonstrates the master at his best. There is his theme for Dumbledore’s bird, named Fawkes the phoenix, a bird that can literally be reborn from the ashes. Williams was very busy and due to scheduling conflicts was not able to deliver a fully-developed score, so the assistance of William Ross was needed to finish the score and orchestrate it. The post-“Prisoner of Azkaban” films do not feature Williams’ score, though the succeeding composers were able to understand the need to use Williams’ “Hedwig Theme”—so vital to the Harry Potter films. The cinematography by Roger Pratt helps make this a very beautiful film. It is dark when it needs to be and also bright to make sure there is a payoff. Columbus allows everything to be an improvement over the previous film—even the Qudditch match is more entertaining.

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is filmmaking at its best. Films of the fantasy genre often try too hard or simply not hard enough to establish an environment of magic in their films. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” finds the total perfect balance, and despite its near-three hour length, there is hardly ever a boring moment or a scene that should have been discarded. What a wonderful film it is.

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The Damned United

Finally, a movie like “The Damned United” comes along. This movie, directed by Tom Hooper and adapted from David Peace’s book “The Damned Utd,” has thrown out the annoying formulas that have been used over and over again in sports movies. It features fine storytelling, and a fine performance, and is therefore victorious.

“The Damned United” starts in 1974, where Michael Clough (Michael Sheen) has just taken over as the coach of Leeds United. The opening moments reveal that Clough is dismissive of the previous manager, Don Revie (Colm Meaney). Much of “The Damned United” centers on Clough’s rise as a soccer (or football or whatever you want to call it) coach, and the film eventually details why exactly Clough is so hateful towards Revie. As it turns out, when Clough was manager of Derby County, he was not offered a handshake by his rival Revie of Leeds. Beaten not only personally but also on the field, Clough swore revenge, to beat him if it was the last thing he ever did. Along with his talented and loyal assistant (played by Timothy Spall), he builds up Derby County, frequently arguing with its chairman, played by Jim Broadbent, until Derby County and Clough become a terrific success story.

Clough has become a wildly arrogant individual. He is a man of an incredible work ethic, but it must be noted and understood that a high work ethic does not necessarily translate to proper ethics. There is nothing wrong with using one’s enemies as motivation for success, but with Clough’s case, there is a serious abuse of principals. Clough taunts the chairman with the resignations of he and his assistant (who does not want to leave Derby County), and finds that his trailblazing path to burn bridges is destroying far too many, including the relationships with his friends. But eventually he gets the management position of the coveted Leeds, but cannot find the success on the field that his predecessor could. His players won’t play for him, and the very mention of Revie’s name sends him into a tirade. Something is not working, the stakes are rising, and everyone is turning against Michael Clough. This is a nice story about a man who is in way over his head.

So a noble becomes a fool, and must become noble again.

Unlike so many other sports movies that use such hackneyed formulas, this one does not. Sheen’s Clough is not a typical sports movie coach/hero. He is filled with hubris, ambition and a lack of empathy. Usually, a movie like this is supposed to feature a humble man who comes out of nowhere and offers a bunch of stupid motivational speeches to his players, who are all inevitably struggling in some way or another. Instead, the exposition describes that Clough has seriously insulted Revie and his players, whom he now must coach. His first speech to them is anything but inspirational. After noted their successes, he is dismissive. “You’ve all cheated.” Things are going to be a little different around here, he tells his skeptical audience. His pride is excessive: “I wouldn’t say I was the best manager,” he tells an interviewer, “but I was in the top one.” Muhammad Ali, the world’s most famous arrogant sportsman, orders Clough on television to stop it, because there can only be one Muhammad Ali. Are you going to stop it? Clough is asked. “No,” he says with a grin, “I’m going to fight him.”

Michael Sheen is a wonderful actor. Even in less-than-stellar films, like “Underworld,” he is a terrific performer and a joy to watch. This is the third non-fictional character he has played from a written work by Peter Morgan (the first was as Tony Blair in “The Queen” and the second was as David Frost in “Frost/Nixon”). Sheen is more handsome than the actual Clough, but he definitely has the voice down. Whether or not all of this happened (as some have argued it has not) is not really worth writing about; instead, the focus should be on the acting and the way the story is told. Fortunately, Sheen is joined by other very talented actors like Spall, who is effective here as he always is, but this is essentially Sheen’s movie. There are few actors who can “play anybody,” but Michael Sheen might possibly become one of them.

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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To discuss Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” one must contemplate whether more attention should be paid to Gilliam’s storytelling or the fact that this is the final performance of the late Heath Ledger. Because both elements are top-notch, a sense of guilt or inequality should not exist, and therefore both factors can be given nearly equal attention. This is a fascinatingly imaginative film, and Gilliam’s production and Ledger’s performance are what help make this film wonderful.

Christopher Plummer, an actor who has continually been granted better and better roles as he ages, plays the title character, a former monk-turned-magic man who made a deal with the Devil. The Devil (terrifically played by Tom Waits), of course tricks him, and Doctor Parnassus, who wins immortality, must surrender his child (Lily Cole) to the Devil on her sixteenth birthday. Facing financial uncertainty with his traveling imaginarium along with his daughter and two other characters (Verne Troyer and Andrew Garfield—Garfield’s character is in love with Cole’s), Parnassus is running out of time. The team stumbles upon a man who from the lightening appears to be dancing on water, until it is revealed that he is in fact hanging. They rescue this man (Ledger), and he tells them that he cannot recall his name or past, though the audience discovers that this is not entirely the case. Still, Tony, as it is revealed he is called, is inspired to help Parnassus and company revive the show for a contemporary audience. Inside this imaginarium, a bizarre world of the traveler’s imagination exists, where he or she must choose between Parnassus or the Devil. But another bet is made between the two: first to five souls wins, and if Parnassus is the victor, then he shall forever be at peace with his daughter. This probably gets lost in confusion and details, for many things are hastily explained, including a twist near the climax of the film that is hurriedly revealed by a character.

It was very much a bittersweet experience to view “The Dark Knight” last year, as Heath Ledger, the Marlon Brando and James Dean of our time, is no longer with us. It was comforting, though, to know that there would be one final performance, which is excellent and worth the wait, and one final film, thanks to Gilliam’s imagination and the assistance of three great actors. Ledger apparently improvised about half of his dialogue, and despite the details of his insomnia during the filming and despite the fact that there are still rumors around that portraying the Joker terrorized him to his death, Ledger is remarkably vigorous in this film. Many moments are Gilliam at his finest, like the arbitrary Russian dance of violence and brute (alas, the Russians are out-seduced by a large Russian woman). This is also a bit of a dark film, though not as dark as “Time Bandits,” but it ends humbly and sweetly with the end titles “A film from Heath Ledger and friends,” and the film is dedicated to Ledger and William Vince, one of the producers who also died during the production from cancer.

There are two very terrific interviews with Gilliam that help put the experience of this film in perspective. One is with Michael Mechanic of Mother Jones, who draws a connection between Parnassus and his inability to have his stories be appreciated by others (the studio executives) and Gilliam. Gilliam, in his usual boyish humor, simply shrugs of the situation, but Mechanic is right. Gilliam will forever be known not only for his wonderful visuals and remarkable stories but for his tumultuous relationships with the Hollywood system (though he noted in the interview with Mother Jones that his Hollywood films were the ones which went off without a hitch). The second interview is with Charles McGrath of the New York Times, in which Gilliam tells of his struggles. His pains, called “Job-like” by McGrath, were well-documented in his ill-fated attempt to bring “Don Quixote” to the screen with Johnny Depp; the disaster was turned into an award-winning documentary “Lost in La Mancha.” But these Quixote problems for this quixotic director were minimal compared to the story of “Parnassus,” when in January of 2008 the world learned that one of the most talented actors had died of an accidental drug overdose from sleeping pills. “They just keep kicking me as I lay there on the ground,” he said in the interview. “But to me this really felt final. I thought, ‘The movie gods really don’t want me to continue.’ They were saying, ‘Stop, before you kill again.’” Convinced that he must end the production, he was provided faith from his daughter Amy Gilliam, a producer of the film, and his friend Depp to continue. The idea to change the script to allow for three actors—Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play different incarnations of Tony in the fantastical imaginarium—was Depp’s, who could only film his scenes when he had a break from Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies,” and the three stars contributed their salary to the daughter of Health Ledger.

I was most struck by Tony’s first transformation, in which Tony is played by Johnny Depp. To convince a nervous wealthy woman to make the right choice and not the Devil’s, he reassures her: “To be reborn, first you must die. All of them have achieved a kind of immortality. And we love them all the more for it. They won’t get old or fat. They won’t get sick or feeble. They are beyond fear. They are forever young. They are gods. And you can join them.” It is not certain if this dialogue was written before or after Ledger’s death, but ultimately Health Ledger was one of the few perfect, or nearly perfect, actors the cinema has been witness to. “Nothing is permanent, not even death.” Ledger has died, yes, but, as the cinema has and will continue to do, performers like Ledger are immortalized. They are beyond fear, and they become gods. Terry Gilliam has struggled with the film gods, but they now smile on him, and hopefully, with Heath Ledger among them, will continue to do so.

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