What’s Eating Harry Potter?

In the process,David Yates reveals himself as an extraordinarily gifted director who manages to capture the mood of the novel. Harry and his friends inhabit a dark,inky world here,stony walls and spiraling gates heighten the sense of foreboding. He also manages to lend a sense of claustrophobic gravity to the “pensieve” scenes where a young Tom Riddle is shown in decidedly monochromatic hues to bring forward the evil in him. Also interesting is his restrained treatment of the crucial Snape-Dumbledore climax scene—instead of dwelling on it,Yates rushes through the proceeding in dizzying pace.

But that doesn’t mean that Yates has done away with the lighter moments. There is quidditch and the much-talked about Hermoine-Ron love intrigue is dealt with clinical precision (so much so that you are left wondering if Yates actually disapproves of the match). Enough screen time is devoted to the love angle between Ginny and Harry. Hormones run free in Hogwarts and every corner has a couple “snogging”. Amidst all this are Harry,Hermione and Ron,participators in prototypical tale of love and heartbreak.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as a film,embodies JK Rowling’s achievement with the Potter books. It manages to make Harry both a familiar adolescent — coping with the banal frustrations of school and dating — and an epic hero,kin to everyone from the young King Arthur to Spider-Man.