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Harry Potter and friends prepare to face the Dark Lord in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) Rupert Grint (Ron
Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Grainger), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix
Lestrange), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Michael
Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eyed Moody), Richard Griffiths
(Vernon Dursley), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black),
Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley), Maggie Smith (Minerve
McGonagall), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin),
Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney), Julie Walters (Mrs Weasley), Mark Williams
(Arthur Weasley), Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy),
Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Katie Leung
(Cho Chang), David Bradley (Argus Filch), Natalie Tena (Tonks), George Harris
(Kingsley Shacklebolt)
By the fifth film, the Harry
Potter franchise was really on a roll – and a lot of the core creative team
that would carry the series through to the final film were in place. It’s particularly
striking how much a distinctive look and tone the series now had, that is both
different from the books and a logical extension of them. It’s also the film
where I think the series finally decided it would tell it’s own version of Rowling’s story, rather than an exact staging.
Rather than simply tightening the plot of Rowling’s mammoth
book, Order of the Phoenix decided to
rework the story to deliver what it wanted to do. Vast amounts of Hogwarts
material is ruthlessly cut, including large sections of Ron and Hermione’s
sub-plots. The film streamlines the story, reducing Harry’s feelings of
isolation in the story (the film instead centres the importance of friendship
and loyalty). And despite turning one of the longest books in the series into
the shortest film, this captures the sense of the book excellently. It clearly
identifies the key themes that drive Rowling’s series and runs with these very
effectively. This film, more than any others so far, shows the deep bonds of loyalty
that connect not just the central trio, but also the other members of the
school. The Dumbledore’s Army sequences have a wonderful sense of camaraderie about
them – these people genuinely feel like a group of friends.
These sequences also give Daniel Radcliffe some great
material to play with. Harry clearly would make a hell of a teacher – Radcliffe
makes him encouraging and supportive, capable of drawing the best out of his
students. Radcliffe does his expected excellent job all the way through this
film. His ability to play scenes of grief and longing has increased
dramatically – his reaction to the death of Sirius Black is really well done.
But he also presents Harry as essentially a warm and caring person – exactly
the polar opposite of the man Voldemort has become. It’s another terrific
performance.
Order of the Phoenix was
David Yates’ first film as a director of the series – Yates has gone on to
direct all the subsequent outings in the Potterverse – and part of the reason
he seems to have cemented the role is that he gives a perfect mixture of
Columbus, CuarĂ³n and Newell. He can juggle elements of Rowling’s story, he
works very well with actors, he has enough creativity and vision as a director
to present this world in interesting new ways. He’s a perfect combination of a
number of skills from the previous directors – and he really runs with that
legacy here.
Order of the Phoenix
is a dark and gorgeously shot movie, with a tight story structure (it’s the
only film not written by Steven Kloves, and Michael Goldenberg’s fresh take on
the film I think really helps). Every scene has a painterly brilliance, and
scenes simmer with tension and paranoia – Yates doesn’t lose track of the fact
that Harry is being persecuted by the authorities for taking an unpopular
stance on Voldemort’s return.
Yates establishes his intention to turn this into a notably
darker episode from the very start, opening with a vicious Dementor attack (redesigned
to make them more fluid). This is followed quickly by a show trial at the
Ministry. Then to a darker, gloomier Hogwarts now a den of unjust rules (the
expulsion of Thompson’s gentle Sybil Trelawney is a particular fine heartstring-tugging
moment), and cruel punishments. It’s a film that never allows us to forget death
has entered Harry’s world. By the time we hit the final battle sequences in the
Ministry of Magic, we know our heroes are putting their lives on the line.
Scary as this is, we also appreciate the bonds of love that have taken them
there all the more.
A lot of the creep and cruelty of the film emerge from
Imelda Staunton’s Dolores Umbridge. Staunton is brilliantly cast as the twee
ministry official who hides a ruthless viciousness, buttressed by a sociopathic
conviction that whatever she does must
be right. Staunton’s soft politeness is the perfect vehicle for showing
Umbridge’s sadistic cruelty. Umbridge is the worst form of politician –blindly
following the orders of any authority figure who can promote her on their
coat-tails. The design of her character is similarly spot-on: she dresses
almost exclusively in fluffy pink knitted suits, and her office is an explosion
of pink, china plates and fluffy animal pictures. Staunton is almost
unbelievably vile in her smug, condescending moral emptiness.
It’s further evidence of what a brilliant job this series did
with casting. By this point, truly great actors were appearing in this film
while sharing less than a dozen lines between them: Thewlis, Gleeson, Smith,
Thompson and even Coltrane get remarkably little do in this film, but still
seize your attention. Wonderful performances also come from the less famous
names: George Harris gives a brilliant twinkly wisdom and gravity to Kingsley
Shacklebolt while Robert Hardy (quietly excellent in the previous films) gets
some more material to showcase his skills as the wilfully blind Fudge.
Of the other stand-outs, Helena Bonham Carter is brilliantly
malevolent as the psychotic Bellatrix. Jason Isaacs gets some marvellous
moments of smooth patrician wickedness as Malfoy. Gary Oldman is the ideal roguish
father-figure as Sirius, the actor’s obvious bond with Radcliffe really coming
across. Gambon is very comfortable now as Dumbledore, really showing the
authority behind his Dumbledore’s eccentricity.
Then you have actors who dominate from mere minutes of
screen-time. Fiennes again delivers in a short scene at the close of the
picture. And then of course we get Rickman: he makes so much of such brief
moments as Snape. He has probably the two biggest laugh-out-loud moments (both
totally reliant on his delivery of non-descript words like “Obviously”). His
occlumency classes with Harry showcase him at his best: trying to help, but
unable to overcome his essential bitterness and resentment. These sequences are
wonderfully contrasted with Harry’s comfort as a teacher to his friends: by
contrast Snape is dismissive, impatient and unsympathetic.
The film finds moments of humanity and comedy throughout.
Rupert Grint finally gets to show another side of Ron, as Ron matures slightly into
a loyal wing-man , who makes it clear he will not countenance criticism of
Harry in his hearing. And while this is a dark film, it’s also the one that
deals with Harry’s growing romantic feelings for Cho – and he gets a
beautifully played little romance that reminds us that Harry is (at the end of
the day) still a nervous kid. It’s a film that understands friendship and love
and their importance.
So it’s why the final battle sequence in the Ministry of
Magic works so well. Tense and dangerous, we also root overwhelmingly for the
courage of the kids. The work Yates had done on the wizard battles really pays
off – they have a greater sense of choreography than ever before, while the
apparating (in a trailing, misty, fast-moving cloud) really adds a fantastic
visual element. Little shots work so well – I love the cut from Harry fighting
alongside Sirius to his friends crouching behind a rock staring up at their
friend in awe. It’s a beautiful reminder that what Harry is doing is so brave.
Of course, the film ends in the series’ first truly gripping
wizard fight as we finally get Dumbledore taking on Voldemort. It was a great sequence
in the book – and is translated wonderfully to the screen with a series of
gripping visuals. There are brilliant beats throughout and we learn about the characters.
We see Voldemort’s targeting of the defenceless Harry throughout, the way
Dumbledore puts himself in the way of danger (including angrily throwing Harry backwards
with magic when he steps forward). Above all you see Harry’s own courage (and
his impulsiveness motivated by caring so much).
Order of the Phoenix
is another excellent entry into a series that flourished and became richer the
longer it went on. Yates showed that he was in tune with the fundamental ideas
of Rowling’s writing and that he was able to marry excellent performances with
impressive visuals. It’s brilliantly made – shot wonderfully, very well edited
with a marvellous score – and is an impressive and muscular piece of film
making. Very impressive.
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