Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Well, it's finally here. A year's worth of speculation, disappointment and elation over writing choices, directing choices and casting has finally come down to one two and a half hour movie about an eleven year old boy with a lightning scar.

If you're one of the three people on the globe who haven't read the books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is likely to be a less than fullfilling experience. The mandate to portray almost every incident in the book, means that much of it is sketched in, dealt with and discarded to be brought up again in a later movie. If on the other hand you have read the books then you will have the rather weird experience of seeing the whole thing brought to life pretty much exactly as you imagined it.

Do I really have to give you a run-down of the plot? Could it be that you don't know that young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) lives a miserable life with his dreadful aunt and uncle and their appalling son, Dudley, until the day that the amiable giant, Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) arrives to inform him that not only is he the son of wizards, but is destined to be one himself and is now old enough to begin attending Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once he arrives at the school he finds himself truly home, but also in danger as the evil Voldemort, the man who murdered his parents, tries to regain his powers.

As Harry, Daniel Radcliffe has to carry most of the weight of this enterprise on his slight shoulders, and he does a great job. Harry is quiet but courageous, not entirely convinced that he is going to be a great wizard (after all, his friend Hermione is much better with spells) but willing to try. Much of his performance has to be internal, and Radcliffe brings an impressive stillness and resolve to the part.

Harry's friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) provide able support, though Watson's performance tends to get a little mannered — rather too many acting lessons, I suspect. Grint, on the other hand, is really marvelous as Ron, bringing an authentic, rumpled well-meaning enthusiasm to a boy who will never be at the top of his class but will always be there for his friends when the chips are down.

The adult roles are a veritable who's who of British film, from Maggie Smith and Richard Harris as McGonagall and Dumbledore, to John Hurt and Alan Rickman as Olivander and Snape. Rickman is wonderfully furtive and exudes malice from every pore—how they could have ven considered anyone else for the role is a mystery. Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid is huge, lumbering and sweet, with his love of dangerous creatures and tendency to say things he shouldn't to strangers at the local pub. Other players are merely glimpsed, such as Julie Walters as Mrs. Weasley who has a single scene in this film, but will be a more major player later.

Visually, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is stunning and the effects work is excellent, particularly the Quidditch game. (Though if you haven't read the books, the rules are going to be somewhat baffling.) But this isn't a movie about the effects, or even about the magic, it's quieter than that and does lack a certain punch at the end. The first Harry Potter book introduced everyone to his world and was more about setting up the following volumes than anything else. The result is that this first movie takes up a tremendous amount of time with exposition. Afficianados will get a kick out of seeing people who are going to play a bigger role down the line, while neophites will be left wondering, "Why did they have that scene?"

Still, it has to be remembered that even though adult readers have accounted for much of the popularity of the books, Harry Potter is a children's story. Warner's marketing department encouraged those attending the screenings to bring their kids with the result that the one I attended was full of enthusiastic tykes sporting Harry Potter shirts and hats (there were few sad-looking adults in robes and pointy hats too, but we won't go into that) and I have never heard so many be so quiet for so long.

The anxiety was palpable at the beginning: they, more than anyone didn't want their hero messed with. At the end a small child behind me leaned over and whispered to his father, "That's my new favorite movie." Nuff said.