Classic Review #52: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Available on Netflix
If the preceding Chamber of Secrets could be construed as a somewhat darker turn for the Harry Potter series, its successor can rightfully be viewed as its most cinematic entrant. With Chris Columbus stepping down from directorial duties to take up an executive producer role, it was left to a future Academy Award winner, Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma), to take up temporary residency as the franchise’s creative lead.
The result of this alteration, unsurprisingly so for viewers familiar with Cuarón’s work, is a film that is compellingly different from those it succeeds, with both the director and cinematographer Michael Seresin electing for a visual style that, through use of wide-angle lenses and real-life locations, is far more preoccupied with the space its characters inhabit than the events necessarily taking place around them.
This has the dual benefit of delivering a picture that is aesthetically richer than anything we had previously come to expect from the franchise, and also alleviating the collective burden of its lead actors who, as a result, deliver their strongest performances to date. Aiding the vision of Cuarón and Seresin is Jany Temime, whose addition as costume designer coincides with a look for the film’s characters that is far more in keeping with their status as students progressing from childhood to adulthood. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, the interactions between the students of Hogwarts feels more authentic and subsequently relatable, which only serves to increase the emotional connection between them and the audience, particularly as Steve Kloves’ screenplay begins to delve deeper into Harry’s traumatic past.
As is the case with all of the Harry Potter films, its stars are underpinned by an exemplary supporting cast, with additions including Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon (here making his formal bow as Albus Dumbeldore after Richard Harris’ passing), and David Thewlis, who arguably steals the show as Remus Lupin, a new teacher that is harbouring an unfortunate secret. The film’s special and visual effects are also typically triumphant, with this film marking the debut of series standouts such as Buckbeak and the chilling Dementors.
More mature in tone and ambitious in scope, the Prisoner of Azkaban remains a high-point for the series and sets the stage perfectly for its high-stakes successor.
