No I'm not mad at all! I love discussing differing Harry Potter opinions, it's part of the reason I love talking to people about it. :) I just loved the way Remus was built as a character in the small amount of screen time he had. In the classroom-Boggart scene and the map-insulting-Snape scene, we get to see a bit of his playful, more jovial side (Boggart scene especially). But even when he was young, he was always the "parent" of the group, which really comes out in the movie. (Part 1)
Part 2 - Lupin was always the one studying and joining in on the fun for the sake of his friends, but I’m not sure he would have been one to actively seek trouble since he had enough of his own every month. So I particularly liked how protective he was of Harry without being overbearing in the movie, and how wise he seemed. My only issue when I first saw him was that he seemed much too old (and I know many people have complained about age with Sirius too) - but in both cases, it seems justified.
Part 3 - Remus has a huge weight on his shoulders that he’s carried all his life and he’s afraid it’ll hurt people, especially on school grounds. His friends, who he considered his family, have died/been imprisoned/betrayed him, and as far as he knows, he’s left alone. That’s bound to cause a few grey hairs and premature wrinkles. So once I thought about it, his age seemed perfect because it added a visual demonstration of his inner character that we wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise.
Part 4 - Same goes for Sirius, for that matter. 12 years in Azkaban and you’re bound to age badly and look wayyyyy older than you actually are. XD But back to Lupin - I loved the time he spent with each student and the way he (the actor playing him) seemed to make every interaction with a student that wasn’t Harry count (best example being Neville). Overall, to me it seemed important to emphasise the responsibility of Lupin’s character, and there’s only so many ways to do that in two hours.
Part 6 - David Thewlis had to make sure Lupin seemed older than he was because of how much he’d been through, which I think he accomplished very well, and he also had to make him responsible/wise enough for the audience to understand why Harry, who has never had a father, immediately warmed to his tendency to care for people. But he had to have that gleam in his eye and that young heart that made the audience think that he wouldn’t be a bad guy to have around for a laugh. There wasn’t (next one)
Part 8 - Ron has been my favorite character since I was little, so I’ll never really forgive the scriptwriters for butchering his character. Rupert Grint did an amazing job at implying volumes of extra detail out of his limited lines. I think he was the most skilled actor out of the trio in movies 1 and 2 when they first began (with Emma being a close second because of the wonderful way she transitioned from bossy to best friend). Overall, though, they did a pretty great job with the movies imo.
(I’m sharing this with everyone who wants to contribute, give their own takes)
God, you know, I honestly think that the worst butchering of Ron’s character was in the third film, so maybe that’s why I had some issues with it? Because I have endless love for Ron, and it really hurt me that one of his biggest moments (standing up to Sirius when he still thinks he’s a murderer - ON A BROKEN LEG, MY BOY) was given to Hermione because Steve Kloves was so biased in regards to her. I adore Hermione as much as I love Ron, but his favoritism just got out of hand sometimes.
Honestly, I think that no one was going to be 100% happy with how Sirius and Remus looked, because we all have such firm head canons in that regard, so it was already a rough road to start on. But you brought up so many wonderful points - Thewlis truly did do a wonderful job with nailing the edge of responsible, wise teacher and warm, relatable Marauder at heart.
Thanks for giving me such a thoughtful explanation! I love talking Harry Potter opinions and head canons with people, please feel free to drop any more ideas and thoughts into my inbox if you ever want to!
