Jim Broadbent and Teen Silliness Prevail in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Late one Friday night two years ago, the seventh book in the Harry Potter series hit shelves. Like thousands of other Potter fans, I stood in line for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and though I did my best to savor my reading experience, I had nonetheless devoured the conclusion of the epic saga by Monday night - at which point I, like so many others, felt a searing sense of loss. No more books to anticipate. How could we stand it? Eventually, we recovered, and we found a salve in the knowledge that while the books were finished, three movies remained. Now we are down to two.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of the funniest books in the series. It's also one of the most emotionally wrenching. I hoped that the movie would be able to successfully convey both extremes, and though I often tut-tutted over the film's many omissions, I believe that screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates ultimately pulled the task off admirably. Would I have done some things differently? You bet. But I applauded as loudly as anyone when the credits began to roll. (Fair warning: Here be spoilers. I try not to spill too much, but if you haven't seen the movie yet, you may want to skim.)

Half-Blood Prince finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) poised on the brink of adulthood. Within the space of a year, he has witnessed the deaths of two friends, and he knows that his nemesis, the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, who does not appear in this film), is gaining strength. Eventually, they will have to face each other again; meanwhile, he finds himself in unusually close confidence with Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) as the headmaster shares several memories that shed light on the Dark Lord's early years. While arming himself with this knowledge, he devotes most of his school hours to homework, romantic entanglements and Draco Malfoy, who he's sure is up to something sinister. There's also the matter of Dumbledore's assignment to retrieve a crucial memory from Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), the old potions master who has returned to his post after a lengthy absence.

Radcliffe is terrific as Harry, particularly during the movie's lighter moments. One notable thing about the sixth installment is the extraordinary amount of silly behavior displayed by hormonal teenagers. Ron (Rupert Grint) is by far the worst offender in this regard, at least of the trio, but Harry and Hermione (Emma Watson) each have their moments. There are many awkward pauses and nervous giggles, and food is constantly being used as a prop to enhance the comedy of the situation.

Up until this point, Grint has been somewhat underused in the films, often given lame dialogue and few opportunities to make a tangible contribution. Here, he is frequently front and center, and acting like a complete doofus. Yes, he's still used almost entirely for comic relief, but I'm okay with that; his performance, particularly during the scene in which Ron accidentally ingests a powerful love potion, is inspired. The film might have delved a bit more into his jealousy and insecurity than it did; his reactions to certain events don't seem as vehement as they could be. But Kloves concentrates these emotions in Hermione, which is a decision I can live with.

While Ron spends much of the movie swaggering, we see Hermione at her most vulnerable, and she turns to Harry for comfort, knowing that things aren't going so well for him in the romance department either. It's sweet to see the depth of their friendship here, knowing that the relationship is purely platonic. Harry does get on Hermione's nerves, however, as he surpasses her best efforts in Potions by following the instructions scribbled in his second-hand textbook. In this movie, then, we see Hermione at her most emotional, stung by Ron's insensitive behavior and seething that Harry is coasting along on academic dishonesty, cheating from some past student who might not have been a very nice person.

As Dean Thomas, who is dating Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), Alfie Enoch scarcely says a word, but it's still a more interesting role than he's ever had before, so it's a shame that we never get to witness their break-up, or even hear of a definitive end to their relationship. He just drops out of the movie. Anna Shaffer gets a moment or two to make eyes at Harry as Romilda Vane, but it's Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown, who throws herself all over an initially unprotesting Ron, who really shows the female capacity for silliness. She spends the first part of the movie sighing and swooning whenever Ron comes near; once they're together, she smothers him with public displays of affection, draping him with a gaudy love locket, calling him "Won-Won," drawing tokens of her regard in fogged windows and, of course, snogging him relentlessly. Almost as jarring is Freddie Stroma as conceited Cormac McLaggen, whose attentions toward Hermione are as amusing as they are unwelcome. His storyline wraps up before Christmas, but not before an encounter with Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) that is one of the funniest moments completely invented for the film. None of these inadequate love interests is part of the picture by the time the movie's mood turns dark for Harry and Dumbledore's dangerous late-night Horcrux-hunting adventure, but each contributes significantly to the film's lighter portion.

Among secondary students, Tom Felton is the standout as Draco Malfoy, who for the first time becomes a truly three-dimensional character. In early scenes, he struts around arrogantly, looking quite creepy with his pale face and white-blond hair contrasting starkly with dark outfits that almost seem out of The Matrix. There's a military precision to his movements as he proudly prepares for the task that Voldemort has set him. But as the film progresses, we see, mostly in short asides that shift the perspective from Harry to Draco, that he's struggling, and by the end of the movie we witness real agony and pathos from him. I would have liked for his conversation with Dumbledore to have gone on a bit longer than it did - long enough, at least, for the headmaster to utter one of the most important lines in the series. But their encounter is riveting nonetheless; Draco has never been so fascinating. Unfortunately, his henchmen Crabbe and Goyle (Jamie Waylett and Josh Herdman) scarcely appear in the movie at all; theirs is one of several subplots that gets cut, making many of the film's events seem much more coincidental than those in the book.

Sadly, another student almost entirely absent is Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), the almost-Chosen One who is much more competent and courageous than anyone would initially guess. He doesn't have an especially large role in the sixth book, but there are still opportunities for him to shine: Harry's staunch loyalty to him on the Hogwarts Express; Professor McGonagall's (Maggie Smith) unexpected words of praise during their class scheduling conference; his improved performance in light of having a custom wand for the first time; his participation in the defense against the Death Eaters who infiltrate the school as this installment concludes. None of that shows up in the movie. In fact, as I recall, he only speaks in one scene, when he offers Harry a drink at Slughorn's Christmas party, as he's been deemed unfit for the professor's elite Slug Club but worthy of serving as a waiter to its members. An earlier scene shows him at a dinner party thrown by Slughorn, but aside from sporting a very snazzy vest, he makes no contribution to the evening.

On the other hand, Evanna Lynch is positively radiant as Luna Lovegood, the ethereal, eccentric fifth-year Ravenclaw who can always be counted on to provide a startling observation. She replaces Tonks (Natalia Tena) as Harry's liberator after he finds himself in a nasty jam on the train, and though I hate the way Tonks is shunted aside in this movie, the scene is so funny and sweet that I don't mind the change. While I wish we could've heard Luna commentate a Quidditch match, we do get to see her support her friends by wearing her enormous lion's head, and her all-too-brief scene at Slughorn's Christmas party is wonderful. Quick props to Georgina Leonidas as Katie Bell for giving us what is perhaps the film's creepiest image, and I should also mention Robert Knox as Slug Club hopeful Marcus Belby, who's played mostly for laughs as a ravenous eater with a tenuous family connection to a famous potioneer. Tragically, Knox was stabbed to death days after he finished filming, cutting short a career that had barely begun.

I was thrilled to see Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps) steal a couple of scenes; because they are no longer in school, I feared they might get cut altogether, but they share the spotlight in an eye-popping detour to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the Diagon Alley joke shop they co-own. This early scene is pure eye candy, and it's such fun to see them careen around the shop, speaking in unison and hawking their wares, while missing no opportunity to give their little brother a hard time. Sadly, not only is Percy absent from the film, he's never mentioned at all, which would make me nervous that his storyline might not be resolved at all, except that he's listed in the credits for both installments of Deathly Hallows. I suppose we just have to wait extra long to cram in three books' worth of family tension. It's also taking an inordinately long time to introduce Bill Weasley. Omitting him and Fleur Delacour from the movie strikes me as most unfortunate; I don't see how there will be time to establish meaningful character arcs for them prior to their wedding. Then again, post-Hogwarts romance in general doesn't seem to fare too well; the complex relationship between Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) and Tonks that is so subtly developed throughout the book is distilled to one throwaway line in the middle of the movie that is likely to be as befuddling to the uninitiated as Eowyn and Faramir's hand-holding at Aragorn's coronation in Return of the King.

At least Ginny has plenty to do here. Indeed, proportionally speaking, we probably actually see more of her in the movie than in the book, since the film has her palling around with Harry, Hermione and Ron constantly, almost making their trio a quartet. She comes across as fairly quiet but unafraid of asserting herself, as she demonstrates most humorously during the dizzying tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. It's fun to see her right there in the thick of things, though it lessens the romantic tension since she and Harry sort of slide into their relationship with each other. Fans of the book may be disappointed to see that the dramatic moment in which they finally put an end to all that painful longing is entirely omitted, though it's replaced with a scene that is more intimate and subtly sensuous. Additionally, Arthur (Mark Williams) and Molly Weasley (Julie Walters) appear briefly, with Molly the centerpiece of the hilarious and beautifully shot scene in which Harry arrives at the Burrow before the start of term. They also are on hand to witness the film's strangest departure from the book. I guess this mid-movie disaster supposed to drive home the fact that, despite the frivolity occurring within school walls, these are dangerous times, but it could mean a major change for the seventh movie. I'll be curious to see how the aftermath is handled.

Among the adults, Maggie Smith has a stronger presence here than she's probably had since the first movie. That's not to say that she's in the movie much; we never see a Transfigurations class, and a couple of McGonagall's best scenes are eliminated. But though Smith is looking even frailer than usual, she never leaves us in any doubt as to this professor's formidability, and with a silent gesture in the film's last moments, she sparks one of the most moving visuals the film series has given us. I continue to be thoroughly pleased with Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, my favorite character in the Potterverse. Though I would have liked to see some reference to the Trio dropping Hagrid's class, the fallout from that was brief, and the incident had little bearing on the plot, so I can see why it was cut. I was worried that somehow Harry's final attempt to gain the critical memory from Slughorn might be altered to exclude Hagrid, but thankfully, though a few details are different, it remains as much a showcase for the huge-hearted half-giant as before. Though elements of this scene are sad, it offers Coltrane, Radcliffe and Broadbent each the opportunity to give some of the strongest comedic performances in the movie.

I'm still bewildered by the decision to change Professor Flitwick (Warwick Davis) from congenial and elderly to young and cranky, but while he barely appears in the movie at all, he gets a throwaway line that made me laugh harder than almost any other moment in the film. Argus Filch (David Bradley) gets a funny moment or two as he eagerly performs wand searches on students, but sour librarian Madam Pince, who has only appeared in one of the films, doesn't return, so there's no opportunity for hints of romance between them. While Professor Sprout is mentioned, she isn't seen, but the one absence at the teachers' table that really stings is Professor Sybil Trelawney (Emma Thompson). Though she only appears in a few scenes in the book, one provides Harry with some pretty crucial information.

Few characters in the Harry Potter series have inspired as much study and debate as Severus Snape, and the arrival of Rickman in 2001 to color fans' interpretation of the character seems to have increased interest considerably. After a rare glimpse of him in his home environment in a scene that helped turn the question of Snape's loyalties into one of the central issues of the series, we see much less of the surly professor than many would like, but as usual, Rickman commands the audience's attention every time he appears. Snape's deliberate way of speaking, caressing each word as deep-seated emotions struggle to express themselves in his inscrutable face, makes him riveting to watch. I was especially impressed with his performance during his nearly wordless taking of the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory). I do find it a shame, however, that we are unable to watch Snape in action in Defense Against the Dark Arts, the post he craved for so long, and that we don't even see much of a reaction from him or anyone else to the announcement that he has attained the position at last. I also find it laughable that we're expected to believe that after he bursts in on the aftermath of a duel between Harry and Draco in which Harry does significantly more damage than he intended, our bespectacled hero is simply able to make a break for it with no repercussions.

Incidentally, this scene would seem a lot more logical if Moaning Myrtle had been there to alert the whole castle to the attack; as it is, Snape's sudden presence seems a little too convenient. Unfortunately, magical beings really get the short end of the stick here. No ghosts, centaurs or mermaids appear or are even referenced, nor are such creatures as Hagrid's brother Grawp, his bowtruckles or his hippogriff Buckbeak (newly christened Witherwings). Most egregious of all, however, is the complete omission of House Elves. Three of them play a fairly significant role in the sixth book, and two are critical to the seventh installment. We haven't seen Dobby since the second movie, and I fear that by the time he turns up in the seventh or eighth, half of the filmgoers who haven't read the books will have forgotten all about him.

While this film boasts a few fresh faces, the most important newcomer by far is Broadbent, and his performance as vain but accomplished Slughorn is nothing short of masterful. There is much humor to be mined from this professor who at times acts almost as silly as Gilderoy Lockhart, the self-absorbed ninny from Chamber of Secrets, and Broadbent wastes none of these opportunities, but he also gives us genuine emotion, whether it's terror at the thought of a long-ago tete-a-tete connecting him with some of Voldemort's most heinous crimes or grief as he tenderly recalls Harry's mother Lily, one of his favorite students. I found one recollection about Lily added for the film especially touching. Whether the scene calls for jocularity or solemnity, Broadbent rises to the occasion, giving the strongest all-around performance of the movie.

I've had my share of complaints about Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, so I was concerned about how he would pull off this movie, in which the headmaster is so central. While I still wish that Richard Harris could have portrayed him, I found myself mostly happy with Dumbledore here. I still think he's too abrupt, though part of that is down to Kloves; in the book, Dumbeldore makes Harry much more aware of what is going on from the beginning. He sends notice that he'll be arriving to pick him up and when to expect him; he doesn't just show up on the street and whisk him away without even warning him they're about to Apparate. I was sorry to see the Dursleys excised from the movie when Dumbledore's visit with them is one of my favorite chapters in the book, and I was annoyed by the gruff behavior of Gambon's Dumbledore. Similarly, I found it pretty irresponsible of him to drop Harry off in the middle of the night in a swamp half a mile from the Burrow when Death Eaters are roaming the countryside freely. However, I loved his interaction with Slughorn, and in his ensuing conversations with Harry he not only toned down the bark but managed a bit of humor. Moreover, Gambon's haggard performance in the cave and polite conversation with Draco are just about perfect.

It is in connection with Dumbledore that we see the 11-year-old Tom Riddle, the boy who will grow up to become Lord Voldemort. We witness his conversation with this creepy child played by Fiennes' nephew, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, and it says a lot both about Dumbledore's class and compassion and Voldemort's early sociopathy. The film doesn't delve as deeply as the book does, but it shows us a boy who steals and takes grim pleasure in hurting others. I think the scene could have gone on a bit longer, but it's effective as it is. So is Slughorn's memory, in which he uncomfortably discusses Horcruxes with the smarmy teenaged Tom, played by Frank Dillane.

Dumbledore and Harry's Pensieve-peering sessions are greatly reduced in number, with only two memories examined, though as the memories are shown as being stored in marked vials in a cabinet, we are left with the possibility that Harry could peruse other memories at a later date. It almost seems he would have to, for as the movie concludes, we have no reason to think he has any idea what he is looking for, other than the locket, and he doesn't know what that looks like or what its history is. It irked me a bit that Dumbledore made a remark about how a Horcrux could be the most commonplace of objects, almost the opposite of what he said in the book. Essentially, movie Dumbledore has given Harry almost nothing to go on.

It also irritated me that after having it drilled into our heads time after time that you can't Apparate or Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds, Dumbledore and Harry do both. Granted, Harry questions it, and Dumbledore replies with a quip about how it's good to be him sometimes. But it still didn't cut it for me, especially since it allowed the omission of yet another character, Madam Rosmerta, who owns The Three Broomsticks, a popular Hogsmeade pub. In the book, it is she who tips Draco off that Dumbledore has left the school; in the movie, it seems like just another all-too-convenient coincidence that he happens to decide that this is the night to put his plan into action. There's also no real explanation for why Draco seeks Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower. Additionally, allowing such an instant getaway from the cave to the school truncated the time in which Harry had to help his ailing mentor, to the point that there was no opportunity for Dumbledore to utter my favorite line of the book: "I am not worried, Harry. I am with you." Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, since its sister line from the beginning of the book, in which Dumbledore tells Harry not to worry because "you are with me," is also absent, but it's such an iconic quote I felt sure it would be included.

I worry that my favorite line from Deathly Hallows will suffer a similar fate. It's less iconic, and it hinges on the character of Stan Shunpike, who has not been mentioned in the movies since the third film. Which brings me to another complaint. The Ministry of Magic is scarcely discussed at all in the film. We are never introduced to the new Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, or even told that Cornelius Fudge has lost his job, unless it was in an article in The Daily Prophet that I missed. There's no direct indication that the Ministry is ineffective or corrupt; Order of the Phoenix pointed us in that direction, but it still seems like Kloves is leaving himself an awful lot of ground to cover in the next installment. On the other hand, I think it was probably a wise move to open the film not with a conference between the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister but with an in-the-moment shot of Bellatrix LeStrange (Helena Bonham Carter) and her crew (which includes vicious werewolf Fenrir Greyback (Dave Legeno), on whom we never really get any background) wreaking havoc on London, shooting across the sky with black smoke in their wake like a band of escapees from Smallville's Phantom Zone. It's a visually arresting opening to a film whose cinematography never failed to wow me. This is Bruno Delbonnel's first time as cinematographer for a Harry Potter movie, and I was most impressed with his efforts.

Potter fans know to expect that significant plot threads and characters will be dropped from the films, so I'm not sure how much I should sigh over the loss of certain elements, but there are two more I feel compelled to mention. While Harry does Apparate in the movie, it is only by grabbing onto Dumbledore's arm. There's nothing to indicate that he has any idea how to do it himself. The ability to Apparate is a significant milestone for a young witch or wizard, similar to the acquisition of a driver's license, and considering how much Harry, Ron and Hermione have to do it in the seventh book, it seems like this movie ought to have given us a glimpse of their lessons. The biggest omission, though, is the battle that members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix launch against the Death Eaters. After Harry drinks his luck potion, the camera seems to linger for a moment on the tiny bottle, just to assure us he still has a fair amount left. I assumed that this was a set-up for the moment when Harry passes it on to his friends, asking them to patrol the corridors and share the luck amongst themselves, but that moment never comes, and thus all of Harry's protectors are robbed of their chance to demonstrate their valor.

I knew that re-reading the book shortly before I saw the movie would lead to me nit-picking even more than I might have otherwise. I was acutely aware of all the departures, and the purist in me did quite a bit of grumbling. I definitely disagree with some of the directions that were taken. However, while I would venture a guess that only about half the scenes in the film had a direct counterpart in the book, most of the new material felt very true to the characters and often managed to condense many pages worth of conflict into a minute or two. In terms of comedy and teen romance, I think Kloves and Yates absolutely got things right. I laughed aloud many times, both at the dialogue and the expert way in which it was delivered, not to mention the purely nonverbal moments that tickled my funny bone. It's in the more serious part of the movie that I have issues. Though my concerns are enough to make me wonder if the proper groundwork for the last two movies has been set down, when I step back and look at the movie as a whole, especially after removing my purist goggles and acknowledging that no two fans are likely to be in complete agreement as to what should go into an adaptation, I see what may well be the best Potter film yet. May Deathly Hallows be even better.