As I suggested earlier in the week, I consider the Harry Potter books to be *easily* on the same footing as the Vedas. The films a little less so, except for the most recent one, because it contains something that the Vedic Rishis never dreamed of in their wildest cognitions, and would be horrified to even attempt -- humor. The Vedic Rishis would consider humor beneath them; I tend to con- sider it beyond their grasp, and value them and their "cognitions" accordingly.
It's been a trip, watching the cast of the Harry Potter films grow up onscreen, not unakin to chatting with people on this forum who got involved with the TM movement 'way back when they were young and impressionable, too. Some of them have grown up gracefully, some less so. With the Harry Potter kids, it's definitely more a case of "graceful" than "less so." Harry (Daniel Radcliffe <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0705356/> ) has turned into a real babe, guy-wise. Onscreen he handles the role assigned to him faultlessly, and he seems to be able to do the same thing offscreen. ( He recently dealt with some reporter who was trying to embarrass him by pointing out that his recent performance in "Equus" on Broadway resulted in -- because it contains a nude scene -- "him displaying his junk all over the Internet" with laughter and a wise-beyond- his-years "What...are you twelve?" look, aimed at the interviewer. ) Hermione (Emma Watson <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914612/> ) did the same thing recently, blowing off Letterman as *he* attempted to embarrass her over a recent "wardrobe malfunction" on the red carpet of a premiere. She put him in his place with a similarly-withering "What...are you twelve?" look, saying simply, "Hey, at least I was *wearing* underwear." My bet is that by the time these "child stars" finish up the last of the eight films they have signed on for, they will all be FAR more adult and FAR more able to handle the world than the insipid assholes who get paid to interview them. Hell, they already are, and it shows up onscreen in this film. The comedic timing (and yes, there is occasional comedy in this episode of Harry Potter) is perfect. Comedic actors three times their age could not possibly have done better. And, because this is really one of the first films in which these budding adolescents are *allowed* to bud and have feelings for the other sex that they don't keep hidden under their wizard's robes, they handle romantic comedy better than actors three times their ages. My favorite "budding actress" story is Bonnie Wright <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942247/> (no relation), who plays Ginni Weasley. 'Way back in 1999 or 2000, when the first of the films was being cast, some casting director had the challenging task of picking a young 10-year-old girl who had the potential of growing up into the kind of babe who deserved "the chosen one" as a boyfriend. Good work, casting director. Good work all around. This installment has a somewhat unsettling ending, but so -- often -- does life. My assessment is that the kids who were originally cast in this series of films and who have grown up making them are far more capable of handling life's occasional unsettling moments than most of the people around us. And if that ain't magic, I don't know what is...
