About Harry Potter, a BOY Wizard

Harry Potter. Whether you love him, hate him, or think he's the anti-Christ (I do mean that quite literally), I saw his new movie on Friday (opening day). I went with my neighbor Jane, her son Harry, he's 9, and oh yes, they are British (how cool am I?). I was very very excited for this installment because the 3rd book was my favorite.

Spoiler alert: for those of you who don't/can't read who plan on seeing the movie, you may want to skip the rest of this blog entry. Before you leave, I will say that it was wonderful, magical, engaging, mesmerizing, and all the things that Harry Potter movies should be. Plus, I will quite inappropriately say that Daniel Radcliffe gets hotter to me every day (whatever, if "lad mags" can countdown til the Olsens turn 18, I can say that I think Daniel Radcliffe is going to be scrumptious as he gets older).

SPOILER: I was a bit disappointed (but I realize this is not fair of me) to not see my favorite part of the book get as emotionally in-depth as I would like. There was a part of this book that literally made me cry. With joy, with heart-wrenchingness, with relief, with an overwhelming sense that my protaganist was going to have a better life than he'd had up until this point. NO REALLY HERE'S THE SPOILER: Sirius Black, falsely accused of being responsible for Harry Potter's parents' murder, is cleared when the young wizards discover a case of mistaken identity. Sirius is also Harry's godfather, and before all hell breaks loose, the real culprit escapes, and Sirius is left to keep running from the law, there is a brief shining moment when it looks as though Harry can go live with Sirius and never ever have to return to the Dursleys again. The Dursleys are gross caricatures of really mean, evil people who treat Harry like utter crap. Although they are not realistic, although I've never TOTALLY bought their unusually poignant brand of evil, I sputtered into tears when I thought that poor Harry would never again have to go back there. 20 pages later, I again cried when I realized that yes, he would have to go back there, because the young wizards did not have the evidence to share with the world that Sirius Black was an innocent man.

I just did not get the sense of that intensely memorable part of the book reflected in the sterile conversation between Harry and Sirius, when he went to leave. I did not sense Harry's disappointment and bitterness. (Incidentally, for those who saw the movie, I felt the same way when he realized that the person he saw conjuring the patronus was not his dad, but him. . .in the book, wasn't he a lot more disappointed at that thought?? In the movie, he giggles in amusement as though he's solved a complex time-travle puzzle.) Harry is a adolescent cauldron of intense and angry emotions, which I just don't think is accurately reflected in the movie. (Nor am I sure I really want it to be. It might ruin Daniel Radcliffe's hotness for me. . .or maybe would increase it. . .Dylan McDermitt on the Practice anyone?? Oh Bobby, you're so hot when you're angry.) But anyway, I don't really expect the movie to delve as deep into those emotional themes as the books do, especially not in the limited time allowed. But for my part, I enjoy the books for that reason.

I was a literature major, and I've read a lot of GREAT books. Few have made me cry. A Tale of Two Cities made me cry. And the Prisoner of Azkaban made me cry. I am sure there are others, but those stick out. Harry Potter may be children's writing, but the ability to evoke that kind of response from an adult reader. . .well, that's powerful literature. Those are powerful characters. That's making someone CARE about your protagonist. J. K. Rowling: you are among my heroes. For making something amazing and for having an imagination big enough to share with the rest of us, and for succeeding in the world of literature, both from a commercial point of view, and from a artistic point of view. I hope to join you on the bookshelf someday (look for me in the Mystery section).