Prisoner of Azkaban observations

[chicken]

After seeing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for about the sixth time now (thankfully we have a second-run theatre which only charges $1.99 per person per showing, at all times of day), I am finally ready to pose a few questions and/or make some observations.



There are lots of obvious things that people have already discussed, such as the brilliant queer wolf/dog Remus/Sirius love that Cuarón brought to light more explicitly than Rowling ever dared. Specifically, people have pointed out that this plays out most clearly in the Shrieking Shack (hugging, "arguing like an old married couple"), and during the tranformation under the moon ("this heart ..."). Of course there is also the general 'outcast werewolf as a metaphor for the marginalization of gay men' (and of queer people in general in the teaching profession and in life).

However, there are several small points related to this that I would like to discuss, evidence that seems less obvious but is no less compelling, at least in my opinion.

These points are based only on the film, and not on events or evidence in the book, since I read the book a trillion years ago and can no longer remember all the differences between it and the movie (yes, I MUST read it again).

1. On the bridge, Lupin describes Lily and James to Harry, as he knew and cherished them. For a long time, the obvious heterosexual reading of this scene -- that Remus loved Lily, and/or she, him -- kind of galled me in the face of my obstinate belief in Remus' gayness. However, this time around it occurred to me that Lily's willingness to understand and believe in a person that no one else believed in, a person who could not even believe in or love himself, could be read as the sympathy that many a straight girl feels for the special gay man in her life. Often, this woman will be the only person in that gay man's life in whom he can confide and who loves him truly unconditionally and with no messy strings attached. This is a stereotype to the point of being almost mythic, and therefore seems like a plausible reading of their friendship. Following on that, "James always being in trouble" is said with such fondness as to make 'trouble' seem like the most laudable behavior imaginable in the Mooney/Padfoot/Wormtail/Prongs clan.



2. The quidditch broom which Sirius sends to Harry can only be the result of a Remus/Sirius partnership, since (in the movie) Harry only told Remus, and not Sirius, about his broom being destroyed, so that Remus and Sirius would have had to discuss the matter together (and yes, I seem to remember that this point is not valid in the book's world, where Sirius did learn of the broom mishap directly from Harry).<å/li>
   
   
3. I had another couple of points concerning the map, and concerning James' desire for Sirius to make his transformation permanent, but I am tired now and do not remember them.

Comments

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

"After seeing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for about the sixth time now..."

No, no, the proper punchline here is "I've decided that I HATE IT!!"

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

Haha.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

...And as a guy who once wrote a taxonomy of time-travel plots, my own delight at the movie was in the construction of the last act.

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

Yes -- that was rather well done. Especially the little details, like Hermione recognizing the little black stone, and amusing things like, "is that what my hair really looks like from the back?"

[keever.livejournal.com]

::cracks knuckles and chows down on excellent food for thought::

It may be my omgpuppyloveissototallycanon-ness speaking, or just my faith that someone as smart as Rowling wouldn't do something as hackneyed as to introduce a love triangle into the marauders backstory, but I've always refused to read the line about Lily as an indication that Lupin ever had those kinds of feelings for her. I thought exactly what you did -- that there was a time during which she was open-minded and sensitive to something that was going on with him (wolfness? queerness?) that he didn't feel comfortable talking to his very alpha male mates about just yet. Certainly, we know that early on, James and Sirius weren't exactly the sweetest kids on the planet, even though they eventually showed some outstanding qualities.

However, I think it's an important distinction that Rowling said that it was Cuaron who introduced the foreshadowy elements, and not Kloves. Unless the line was something that was at least partially improvised during filming, she would have known about that through her collaboration with him on the script. I actually suspect that exactly what she was referring to might turn out to be something more thematic and amorphous, even though my dream is that it turns out that all of the moments (especially those with the physical contact) that can be construed as slashy were not explicitly present in the screenplay and were suggestions that Cuaron made to Thewlis and Oldman on how to play it so that it rings even truer when she finally just writes their relationship into a future book.

I totally missed number two, but then again, I suck at locating supposed goof-ups like that. Very interesting.

And I'm curious to hear more about number three. I keep hearing that they're going to be revisiting the map again in GoF, when hopefully, it source will finally be explained.

I wish it was still playing anywhere close to me. Is it November yet? I seriously can't wait for the DVD.

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

I want to believe the thing about Cuaron making suggestions to Thewlis and Oldman on how to play the scene in an even more relationshippy gay way, because those two (having both played gay before, and being good friends in RL) would be only too happy to comply. :-)

Of course in the book for PoA, the source of the map was indeed revealed (because it's pretty obvious anyway), so I don't know if they want to spell it out that explicitly in future movies, since most people have read the books. Or, maybe I'm off-base about that, maybe they assume that some people haven't read the books. But Cuaron hinted at it so much (Lupin already knowing all about the map, Sirius saying that the map 'never lies', etc.), that perhaps they all assume that everyone knows now.

[keever.livejournal.com]

I hope they don't make that assumption because I love the marauders stuff so much and want more of it, but they probably will. It actually seems more likely that if we're going to hear about it again, it'll be in the fifth movie, since that'll be the first time that we'll see Sirius and Lupin together again. (And oh, lordy, how I'm looking forward to that.)

The second time I went to see PoA, I went with my sister, who hasn't read the books. She didn't register that it was odd that Lupin seemed to know all about the map until I explained some of the backstory that was cut. They must have some interesting conversations about what to assume the audience knows. Obviously they want to make it work for everyone from the people who can quote the texts backwards and forwards, but even moreso for the people who just want to go and see a movie, otherwise, they're limiting their audience. The adaptation process intrigues me.

[kaytee4ever.livejournal.com]

*popping up* (found your lj through a reply on Karenbear's *G*):
Tell me more of Thewlis and Oldman playing gay before? and being good friends in RL?

I really liked Thewlis in PoA and foolishly thought this was the first time I ever saw him in anything. I chanced upon his performance in a Prime Suspect 3 rerun on BBC America (very hot, mostly in black, rentboy, and the cocky bad boy. guhhhh.). I then looked him up on IMDB and realized that he was the young evil King in Dragonheart that I'd lust over even as I wanted his character to be stopped. Looks so very different in that vs. PoA. Now, I want to go watch Dragonheart all over again ;)

Any Thewlis or Oldman recs?

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

Thewlis played gay opposite Leo DiCaprio in "Total Eclipse", a film about a couple of gay French poets during the last century. I know, Leo is annoying, but they get naked, so, you know ...

Oldman played the notorious gay writer Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" opposite Alfred Molina. Definitely a superb film, and apparently quite faithful to the book.

There was an interview in the press with Gary Oldman in which he discussed being nearly lifelong friends with Alan Rickman and David Thewlis, I think they may all have done theatre together or something a really long time ago. I think I saw the interview on one of the big HP fan sites, or maybe I just googled for their names.

Thanks for the Prime Suspect 3 rec -- BBC America repeats things almost too frequently, so it should be on again. Thewlis is good in everything I've seen him in, obviously Mike Leigh's "Naked" was the film that really put him on the map. And Total Eclipse of course stands out in my mind.

Oldman is just legendary, I mean, in addition to Prick Up Your Ears, there are just too many gems to mention, films like "Sid and Nancy", "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead", "Dracula", "Immortal Beloved", "Basquiat", "The Fifth Element", etc. I am probably forgetting a bunch. And of course his directorial tour de force, "Nil By Mouth" is a much grittier and apparently true-to-life portrait of the East Enders' working class life (in which he grew up) than the "Eastenders" show could ever be (although his sister Laila Morse of course stars on that show), even more so than any Michael Caine film like "Alfie" or whatnot. Almost too brutal to watch, but riveting.