Film Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

If you haven’t read the book and happen to live under a rock, this may contain spoilers.

The magic is alive and well in the sixth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by JK Rowling. Visually stunning, with a fresh, genuinely funny screenplay, and a cast that works together like a particularly dynamic family, it will not disappoint even the most avid of Harry Potter fans. I should know, I am one.

We left the wizarding world, after the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (also directed by David Yates) on the verge of complete turmoil. The return of the Dark Lord and a violent duel between the Death Eaters and The Order saw the murder of Sirius Black, the closest thing to family Harry had ever known.

This time around, things are only getting worse. The students return to a Hogwarts that is no longer safe, the complicated charms protecting its walls only able to hold out against dark magic for so long. Dumbledore is weakening as he mysteriously disappears on unknown jaunts, in an effort to crack the riddle that is Voldemort. Harry is older now, and, having already proven himself, has been recruited by Dumbledore to retrieve a vital clue that lies in the memory of former teacher and marvelous sycophant, Horace Slughorn (an in-form Jim Broadbent). Slughorn has been tempted back to Hogwarts to teach Potions by Dumbledore, unable to resist the lure of teaching, and befriending, the famous Harry Potter. It is in Slughorn’s class that Harry comes across an old Potions text book that once belonged to the Half-Blood Prince, someone who knew a lot about the art of both creating and thwarting dangerous spells.

As Harry is lending a hand to the good side, Draco Malfoy (an intense Tom Felton) is attempting to carry through a request from the Dark Lord, one he must fulfill or he will die. Severus Snape, one of the most intriguing characters of the series (with one of the most beautifully played out stories) has made an Unbreakable Vow with Draco’s mother in a particularly ominous scene; if Draco cannot carry out the Dark Lord’s request, Severus will do it himself. It is, as fans of the books will know, Severus himself who is the Half Blood Prince, a reveal that is subtle and contributes to the building mystery that surrounds who Snape really is, and whose side he is really on. The suspense surrounding Snape is built nicely throughout the film, although his most shocking moment is perhaps a touch hasty. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The sixth installment is equally as dark, in parts, as the fifth, but balanced perfectly with the lighter, more beautiful things in life, namely the lively cauldron that is love. Love is very much in the air in this film, as it was in the book, and love potions, snogging and adolescent jealousy abounds. It makes room for some very funny, very sweet scenes, wonderful foils for the more sinister themes bubbling away. Hermoine has succumbed to her feelings for Ron, but is unable to tell him because he and Lavender Brown are perpetually snogging, and Harry is finding himself weak at the knees at the very sight of Ron’s sister, Ginny Weasley.

The Half Blood Prince is a hugely significant book in the series, and whilst it is tempting to lament some things not given enough time or emphasis in the film as they are in the novel – like Greyback the vile werewolf, the abominable Bellatrix, old stalwarts of the Order of the Phoenix and Ron’s Quidditch insecurities (although the main Quidditch scene is satisfying, particularly the final save by Ron) – one must remember a conceptually vast 500+ page novel is being distilled into a two and a half hour film. Some things have got to give, and the film was smart in its selection of what needed to stay and what could be left for fans to revisit in the book.

There were perhaps some under-used characters and relationships; indeed it feels like the trio themselves are slightly marginalized in favour of Harry and his personal relationships, but Half Blood Prince is a Harry-centric book. The lack of trio-time, however, is made up to us by the scenes in which they do appear being particularly endearing and lovely showcases of their developing comic timing. The natural chemistry between Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe is permanently on show – look for scenes when Ron and Harry are discussing girls, and when Hermoine gets tipsy on butter beer. All three young actors are as comfortable in their characters as one might imagine they are in their own skins.

However Dumbledore’s death, the clear climax of the film is strangely anticlimactic. For whatever reason – perhaps banking on majority of the audience knowing what was coming – Yates went with both a swift death scene, with little time spent building the tension, and an overall quiet aftermath. It was a choice of subtle sadness over drama. The overall effect is somewhat unsettling, which works as a lead in to the two final movies – the sense of destabilization and vulnerability is palpable – but by the same token, doesn’t allow for a massive build to propel the audience into the ultimate showdown between good and evil that awaits in the final film (split into two installments currently being filmed).

Rich in detail (look for little things, like a dish of lemon sherbets on Dumbledore’s desk) pacy and perfectly magical, Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince works incredibly well in and of itself, but also as a pivotal part of the series. It is a happy fusion of a truly brilliant cast relishing a crisp screenplay, slick visual effects and a cleverly selective director with a vision us Potter fans cannot fault.

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Director: David Yates

Cast: too numerous to mention

Release date: 15^th July, 2009

Images courtesy of Warner Bros