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Order of the Phoenix - a Stunning Success

Reviews - Movies

Written by Dave Atkinson

Wednesday, 11 July 2007

Rating: PG-13
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton
Directed by: David Yates

Take one seven-part book series with unprecedented world-wide popularity, a legion of protective child-like fans, and cynical, scrutinizing media with impossibly high expectations...add to this a 766 page original text, and the need to appease fans of the novel while ensuring the film remains accessible to those unfamiliar with the original text. Now, make a movie.

Sound impossible? Well, by every right it should be, but happily for fans across the globe, the latest Harry Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, does manage to live up to (most of) the hype.

As the lights dim and the giant Warner Bros emblem grows ever closer, a buzz of anticipation fills the cinema; a new Harry Potter movie has arrived, and the audience – children and parents, teenagers and grandparents – is ready and willing to be entertained. With the publicity storm that inevitably accompanies anything ‘Harry Potter’ related, and the impending release of JK Rowling’s final master-work of the hugely popular series, there has been something of an assumption that the fifth Potter adaptation is destined for greatness.

The expectations for this latest film have never been higher. The novels are so widely known and media interest so intense, that anything less than a standing ovation can be viewed as a failure. Happily, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix surpasses the benchmarks set by the previous films, and does just enough to appease all interested parties.

Adapting the Potter novels for film is no mean feat. Children across the globe act as guardians of the stories—they know every fact, every line and every plot detail. Moreover – despite the wonders of CGI effects and computer editing – the films must compete with the infinite creative possibilities of the imagination.

On top of these weighty considerations, the films must also remain accessible to those who are unfamiliar with Rowling’s novels. Creating a film that remains true to the novel (the longest of the series, at a whopping 766 pages), that can be a stand-alone from the books, is a difficult task...particularly given the constraints of running time.

Following the trend that started with 2004’s Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix is considerably darker than its predecessors. Cut off from the wizarding world and struggling with a Ministry of Magic unwilling to acknowledge the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Lord Voldemort), it is an increasingly frustrated and resentful Harry who opens the fifth film.

With a new love interest (the frustratingly passive Cho Chang) and new foe (the deliciously vindictive Delores Umbridge, played with aplomb by Imelda Staunton), the Harry Potter we meet in Order of the Phoenix has grown considerably. Struggling against the enemy within and without, along with the general angst and euphoria experienced by all teenagers, Harry, Ron and Hermione are now well aware that life is not all Quidditch and sugar quills.

While the previous four films have all been enjoyable (Azkaban and Goblet particularly), Order of the Phoenix is engaging on a much higher level. The success of this latest filmic endeavor has much to do with a renewed concentration on ‘film basics’ (acting, editing, camera work, and above all else - the script), rather than merely relying on the crowd-pleasing visual effects. While much of the effect work in the earlier films is impressive, it did little to add to the emotion or substance of the story. What was lacking in this mass of CGI, in short, was the magic.

The performances delivered by the ‘trio’ (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) are the most accomplished and appealing to date. Like the characters they play on screen, it has been a privilege to watch these three grow professionally. While the physical demands of Goblet were particularly high (due to the large number of stunts), the emotional demands of this film are equally fierce. Radcliffe comfortably deals with the entire emotional spectrum, from the awkwardness and innocence of the scenes with Cho Chang, to the aggression and frustration in scenes with Snape and Umbridge, and finally the emotional departure of his godfather.

Watson’s Hermione is as bossy, smart and sassy as always. Moving further away from her bookish tendencies, Hermione is delivered as a mixture of insecurities and fierce, assertive intelligence. Most pleasing, however, is the development of Ron. Restricted by the scripts of the earlier films, Grint’s Ron had remained a frustratingly two-dimensional character (Hermione’s cheeky quip that Ron has ‘the emotional range of a teaspoon’ was not far off the mark). Thankfully, Order of the Phoenix extends Ron’s emotional range. The limits of Ron have nothing to do with Grint, who plays Ron with surprising subtlety, and shows just what he is capable of when presented with the right material.

The film as a whole is pleasing, without blowing the audience away. Packing the longest novel in the series into only 138 minutes was never going to be easy, and large segments of the story are conspicuously absent (the Privet Drive and Grimmauld Place scenes are kept to a bare minimum, while St Mungo’s Hospital doesn’t even rate a mention). These omissions may upset die-hard fans, but the resulting story is absorbing and coherent, capable of standing free from both the novel and preceding films.

Director David Yates gets the most out of his characters, using strong character interplay to explore the different aspects of human (or wizarding) behavior in a tense, changing world; the good, the evil, and the murky in-betweens. With the storm clouds gathering over the wizarding world, the film deals nicely with this overarching theme of Rowling’s novels; from the clear, unabashed evil of Voldemort’s death eaters, to the ignorant, fear-driven behavior of Minister Fudge, and finally the prejudiced malice of Umbridge. Harry soon discovers the line between what is right and what is wrong is increasingly blurred.

While solid throughout, the climax is the undisputed highpoint of the entire film. Mirroring the momentum of Rowling’s novel, the production builds towards the epic final scenes in the Ministry of Magic (where the majority of the CGI budget is put to good use), with the emotional departure of Sirius, an enthralling battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore, and the revelation of the prophecy.

The exhilaration of these final sequences is, however, limited to this small section of the film. While the film is highly enjoyable and watchable, the impact as a whole merely meets expectations, lofty though they were.

Given the world-wide Potter phenomenon, it was always going to be difficult for Order of the Phoenix to meet media and public expectation – let alone surpass it. The appetite for all things ‘Harry’ is so fierce, in fact, that mere excellent may no longer be good enough for some. For the most, however, the fifth Harry Potter film’s ability to excite and engross makes it a stunning success.

Die-hard fans and general movie-goers alike will remain engaged from sombre start to thrilling finish. Applause and congratulations to all concerned for delivering the most accomplished Potter film to date. With the next film not due until late 2008, the attention of all will now undoubtedly shift to the soon-to-be-released final novel, as we wait to discover Harry’s fate...