Now, I know a lot of people have a problem with this film. And by that I mean I have friends who choose to ignore it's existence because they didn't like Alfonso Cuaron's take on the third book in the series. And yes, I can admit that there are parts of his interpretation that are problematic, but for me this film is about setting up a change in tone that leads into the rest of the series, and for that I applaud Cuaron. This installment is appropriately darker and more mysterious than the previous two, just as it ought to be.
Harry and Lupin's friendship
Sirius gets a lot of credit in the books and later films for being Harry's first father figure, but I think something out to be said for his relationship with Professor Lupin in Prisoner of Azkaban. This marks the first time Harry has an adult (other than Dumbledore) whom he trusts and feels he can confide in about the things that he doesn't even want to admit to Ron and Hermione. The scenes between them in this film are a particularly good representation of the dynamics of their relationship, my two favorites being Lupin teaching Harry how to conjure a Patronus and Harry revealing that he used the memory of his parents to form it; and their concluding scene, when Lupin gives Harry a final piece of reassurance and delivers one of my favorite parting lines:
"Now it's time for me to say goodbye, but I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Until then, mischief managed."
Hermione Fights Back
Because who didn't love this scene in the book? Hermione is already having a pretty crap-tastic day (year, really), and Malfoy just has to continue to act like a little shit. You saw it coming and at the same time you didn't, which is what makes this moment so great to watch on the screen.
In the Shrieking Shack
What happens when you put some of Britain's greatest actors in a run-down little house and have them act out a dramatic tale of betrayal and bad blood? Magic, that's what happens. I love this scene so much, because it is so true to how I imagined it (which for this particular film is quite an accomplishment). There is a perfectly tuned sense of urgency in the scene and as a viewer you are completely drawn in, even if, like me, you know how it will end.
Time Travel explained, or, That Time I Read the Book 10 Times But Didn't Get It Until a Visual Was Provided
As the title of this section indicates, I was a little slow to completely comprehend the events which concluded the third book. Particularly, I couldn't understand, no matter how many times I read it, just how Harry first thought he saw his father only to realize it was himself all along, and then how he was so confident that his Patronus would succeed in saving himself and the others. It was something that kind of made sense and so I went along with it for the sake of the story, but when I saw the movie everything finally clicked. I'm not sure if Cuaron is responsible for the illustration of time travel directly or if that was the brainchild of a screenwriter/producer/etc, but it just works so well. Even the somewhat silly parts of it (Harry getting hit by rocks from nowhere, Hermione studying her own hairstyle) achieve what they set out to do, which was to show that the kids were literally in two places at once.
So there you have it. Hate on it if you will, but Prisoner of Azkaban will always have a special place in my heart.
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