What is the new darkness surrounded by the new Harry Potter?
Warner Brothers has squired along the “Harry Potter” films with mostly smart decisions, and the arrival of No. 6, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” does nothing to derail the series’ momentum. David Yates, who ably directed 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” returns for a second go-round; he’s currently also directing the two-film adaptation of the last of the books, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” The entire series has remained relatively faithful to the books: As with “The Lord of the Rings,” the existence of a huge and devoted readership left little choice. As a result, No. 6 continues on the trajectory started in the previous two films: Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is increasingly isolated, things get way darker and the real world effects of teenage hormones take up nearly as much of the 2 1/2-hour running time as the fight against Lord Voldemort. Extensive plot synopsis seems downright redundant, so suffice it to say that Harry, Hermione (Emma Watson)
I was very excited to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince but I forgot that this book was the, shall we say, “puberty book”. The characters begin to experience some new feelings and as a result begin to feel a little bit uncomfortable around each other. But fear not fellow readers, there is more here than just teenage love/raging hormones. I have heard many people say “This one was so dark…” and to some extent I would agree. There are definitely much darker and more serious themes being brought to the fore front in this installment but lets not forget the unrelenting violence, tragedy and death that has surrounded Mr. Potter from the very beginning. I do, however, believe that “dark” describes this movie more aptly than the previous titles and I think this overtone has a lot to do with silence. Long shots of wordless gazes. Uncomfortable and awkward conversations with abrupt endings. These have added an edge to the film that manages to unsettle you more than the action and tra
