THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2002
FILM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7
Youth-intended 'Secrets' seamless sequel for all
FILM
Stephen Shupe
sshupe@kansan.com
Faster than a Nimbus 2000 broomstick comes Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the sequel to last November's mega-hit Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Such a brief turn-around would seem to portend a hit-and-miss screen result, but when you consider that this franchise is all about defying predictability, it should come as no surprise that Secrets is as close to the spirit of J.K. Rowling's books as any film is going to get.
As for the cynical folks who think they're too cool for something as juvenile as Secrets, remember that the The Hobbit, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Spider-Man comics were also published under a kid-friendly seal of approval.
Daniel Radcliffe and Bonnie Wright star as Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.The movie,the second installment in the Harry Potterseries,is the No.1 movie at the box office.
Contributed art
The opening of Secrets finds Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, back in the land of muggles, living with the Dursleys, the rowdy relatives who hate him, as he waits to return to Hogwarts for the fall term. Dobby the House Elf, a sort of crossbreed between E.T. and Jar-Jar Binks, rudely announces Harry will meet a bitter end if he returns to school. Ignoring the elf, Harry narrowly escapes his imprisonment by the Dursleys and is whisked to the wizard academy in a flying car with his redheaded best friend, Ron, played by Rupert Grint.
The threat Dobby spoke of turns out to be real, as Hogwarts' students begin literally turning to stone, caught with spooky expressions of shock on their faces. As Professor
McGonagall, played by Maggie Smith, tells it, there's a "chamber of secrets" that was created a thousand years ago by one of the four founders of the school, Salazar Slytherin. According to the legend, an ancient monster lives in its depths, and naturally it's up to Harry, Ron and their whip-smart friend Hermione, played by Emma Watson, to keep it from being unleashed.
Both The Sorceror's Stone and Secrets begin with Harry at the Dursleys, follow his flight to Hogwarts, develop the death plot Harry's archenemy, Voldemort, is planning, and conclude with the boy's triumph. The sequel could have ended up playing like a rerun, but instead Secrets is a masterful improvement, more assured and concise, even at 164 minutes.
Director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves take full advantage of The Sorcerer's Stone as a set-up device. We don't need to learn the logistics of Quidditch again. The sequence, which is much more thrilling and visually convincing this time, begins with clouds passing to reveal
the game in progress. Old rivals, friendships and plot developments are picked up where they left off rather than reiterated unnecessarily. What was previously a stop-and-start pattern of exposition is now a steadier flow of complex relationships. Don't worry if you haven't seen the original, though, because Secrets also works as stand-alone material, just like the Indiana Jones movies did.
I loved the maturity of the performances, from Radcliffe's stoicism to Grint's humor to Watson's shrewd combination of both. The best of the kid performers is Tom Felton, who plays Harry's rival, Draco Malfoy, like a dark prince brooding in the shadows, waiting for his chance to rule. Also unforgettable is Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart, the inept narcissist
'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'
★★★★ (out of four)
Rated PG for scary moments, some creature violence and mild language Playing at South Wind 12 Theatres,3433 Iowa St.
teaching Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and the late Richard Harris as Professor Albus Dumbledore.
With its seamless visual effects, beautiful photography that recalls an intricately drawn storybook and breathtaking narrative skills, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets leaves you dazed and awe-struck. This is the most enchanting fantasy film since The Neverending Story.
'Secretary' types up an outdated, failed message
Director Steven Shainberg's new film, Secretary, is so intent on being quirky and wacky that it seems to be totally unaware of its own inappropriateness. And if one were to give its message the benefit of the doubt, it all comes off as merely outdated.
FILM SNOB
Secretary is the story of Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal, the sister of Jake), a girl who has a tendency to perform self-mutilation. The film suggests she does this in order to have control over something, whether it is the pain she causes herself or being able to watch her body heal the wound. But a basic understanding of psychology could be applied to the film to see that the treatment from her alcoholic father, the criticisms from family members, and the comparisons to her blonde sister (Amy Locane) suggests that her self-image has been so distorted and perverted that she
James Owen
jowen@kansan.com
feels she doesn't deserve to be attractive.
One day, she decides to apply for a secretary job with E. Edward Grey (James Spader). What starts as a job that only requires typewriting skills and extra sugar in the coffee becomes a psychosexual relationship where Grey essentially uses Lee as a sex object, including mentally torturing and physically abusing her. Of course, Lee finds this to be a much healthier alternative
than taking the 3/8 drill bit to her legs.
Some will argue that this film is a mere satire on the sexual norms and mores of our society. They will point to Lee's rejection of the by-the-book sexuality of Peter (Jeremy Davies) in favor of the torment provided by Mr. Grey. And that may be a valid point on the surface. But when one looks at the film at a whole its deeper purposes come to the surface. The film uses visual imagery to suggest that the self-inflicted pain Lee causes is no different than the sensation she gets from being abused by her boss.
The film asks us to understand the treatment she receives as an extension of her sexuality. What's worse, it expects us to rally around the fact that her adherence is used as a reward for her happiness in the end. Is this saying that women have to be abused and deprived in order to be successful in the world? Yeah it's saying that, and the script even seems to advocate it.
For more reviews by James Owen, check out www.filmsnobs.com.
Spader's Grey certainly doesn't convey the seductive charm of someone who could get past a sexual harassment suit with his behavior. This may be the message, but there was never a point where I thought that the film was able to get its point across without seeming condescending about it.
I don't blame Spader or Gyllenhaal; they do what they can with the material. I blame the material for ham handling some dark issues with a bare wink to social relevance. I would call Secretary a setback for women, but I think it's safe to say that the film's negative impact will be reduced merely to independent cinema.