Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Directed by Christopher Columbus
Written by Steve Kloves
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, Robbie Coltrane
Release Date November 15th, 2002
Published November 14th, 2002
There is an unspoken competition between the Harry Potter film series and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. While there are numerous other movie franchises, few match the scope and scale of these two series. The competition has nothing to do with box office—though that should be a close race. It has to do with quality filmmaking; which series will be more artistically satisfying? The first of the Potter series was strong, if not memorable, while the first of the Rings achieved everything it set out to achieve until its awful abrupt ending.
That film established its characters, its universe and its rules, creating a good deal of anticipation for the next two films in the trilogy. If the original Potter film wasn't as successful in those respects, it was through no lack of trying. In its second outing, the Potter series flies out of the box with all the magic and wonder of classic Hollywood filmmaking and modern technology. Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets throws down the artistic gauntlet to the The Two Towers and sets the bar high on quality filmmaking.
As we rejoin the story of the world's most famous boy wizard, young Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, aging rapidly) is back home with his Muggle (i.e. non-wizard) guardians. Locked in his bedroom and badly mistreated, Harry cannot wait to return to his real home at Hogwarts Academy. Harry is a little down, however, as he has not heard anything from his close friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson).
As it turns out, Harry's correspondence with his friends has been interrupted by an elf named Dobby who comes to Harry with a warning: Do not return to Hogwarts because your life and those of your friends are in great danger if you do. Undeterred, Harry has no other wish but to return to Hogwarts, and when his friends show up at his home to bust him out and bring him to Hogwarts he literally jumps at the chance.
Once back in the wizard realm he is quickly reunited with his old friend, the giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and comes to meet his newest Professor, the pompous and overbearing Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh). Harry is also quickly reunited with his Hogwarts rival Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and Draco's equally slimy father Lucius (Jason Isaacs). It isn't long after Harry returns to Hogwarts that strange things begin to happen. First Harry is nearly killed in a quidditch match and then he finds himself accused of paralyzing a cat and scrolling in blood that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Thankfully for Harry, the school headmaster, Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris), believes Harry did not commit the crime. Dumbledore knows more than he lets on but plays it close to the vest. As if illustrating Harry's growth into puberty and beyond, he begins to discover new powers, including a rather frightening ability to speak to snakes, a power usually restricted to those who are members of the Slytherin House. Harry is also hearing voices that no one else can hear— a trait that is a little strange, even for a wizard. After a friend is struck paralyzed by the entity that also froze the cat, Harry and his friends can't help but investigate, and find out what the Chamber of Secrets is and whether it has anything to do with the Malfoys, Slytherin, or worse.
There is a deeper story with the Malfoy family who make clear in early scenes their dislike of Muggles and especially wizards descended from Muggle parents like Hermione. The allusion to Nazism is obvious but not overdone. Draco is obviously the model of Aryan nazi youth, and this sets up a metaphor that I'm sure will play itself out in the sequels to come.
One advantage to never having read the books is that I'm excited to not know what's going to happen next, and director Chris Columbus does an excellent job of foreshadowing the future of Harry and his friends— especially the future relationship between Harry and Hermione who seem destined to be more than friends.
It would be easy to underestimate the performance of Daniel Radcliffe, since the kid really is so comfortable in the role he makes it look very easy. However, it can't be easy spending most of the film talking to things that actually aren't there, as Radcliffe does. Be they elves, giant spiders or ghosts, Radcliffe's performance, combined with state-of-the-art effects and editing, bring the film to life in a vibrant and exciting way.
In a wonderful coda to an amazing career Richard Harris leaves us with a wonderful performance. Putting aside the sympathy votes, Harris' performance is honestly Oscar worthy, as is the performance of the newest addition to the series, Kenneth Branagh. With energy and bravado to spare, Branagh's egotistical, cowardly Professor Gilderoy Lockhart is a comic whirlwind who earns laughs with simply a smile. Branagh's performance is truly delightful.
Director Chris Columbus will turn over the reins of the Potter series to Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien), and it is sad to see him go. The director, who was a controversial choice the first time around, really proved himself on this film. Though, for me, the original wasn't the winning concoction so many others enjoyed, it did show that Columbus had a touch for staging and effects. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Columbus fills out the Potter universe in spectacular fashion. Hogwarts becomes a fully realized place, almost a character in itself. Columbus's expertise in staging and effects here combines itself with a compelling story and performances, to make for a truly magical film. The Two Towers has a lot to live up to if it hopes to match the quality of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
