Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)July 19th, 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
reviewed by Samuel Osborn
Director: David Yates
Screenplay: Michael Goldenberg (based on the novel by J.K. Rowling) Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
MPAA Classification: PG-13
If the fourth installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise were a disaster, I would employ the tacky and easy reference of saying that the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the series, is quite as its title: a phoenix rising from the ashes. But, in fact, the fourth film was fantastic and this fifth, by some powerful wisp of magic, has managed to top it. It is a spectacle wonder this time around. Dark in a very real, worrying way, touching as budding adults are, and twinkling with a dark, muscled force of magic and slick imagination, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is not merely the finest of its predecessors but also one of the finest films of this year.
For those unfortunate few who dodged the film's literary counterpart, this fifth installment finds Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) entangled within an infuriating political tug-of-war engulfing his wizarding world. Its governing body, The Ministry of Magic, denies all existence of the all-evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) despite eyewitness accounts from Harry and the very apparent death of Cedric Diggory at the hands of the Dark Lord from the fourth film. With Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) allied to the believers side and causing his school to become a hotbed of anti-Ministry theories, Minister Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) orders an overseer, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), into the school to better facilitate Ministry propaganda. Meanwhile, Voldemort conspires to steal a prophecy from the Ministry's vault of orbed mysteries that will work as a secret weapon in the upcoming war led by Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters. All is quite obviously not well beyond the walls of our Muggle dimensions.
What's changed from the earlier attempts at adaptation is director David Yates' departure from charm. Author J.K. Rowling rarely lost the sense of easy British humor in her novels, managing always to keep the tone within the boundaries of a child's tale. But as Mr. Yates sees it, the times are dire in and out of the walls of Hogwarts and there's no necessity for warm, candlelit smiles. You won't see me complaining. The Order of the Phoenix is weighted with an engine of urgency that's both earnest and laden with suspense. The PG-13 rating is justified if only for the film's grim, very grim overtones.
A usual staple of the franchise hasn't changed, however: its unerring beauty. Cinematography by Slawomir Idziak captures dutifully and respectfully all the brilliant art direction of the Harry Potter crew. It's a feat of technical mastery. The sounds and CGI whimsies are blazingly present and plunge us into the deep end of immersion. The Ministry of Magic is a place of administrative fantasy. Imagine, say, the Pentagon with interdepartmental memos flitting about as paper airplanes jostling for space on the elevator, entrances exploding with the green bursts of floo powder, and elevators that travel horizontally as well as vertically.
The film's cast, all returning from the fourth, again is a relief. The shakiness of the young ones has been pushed aside by the forces of experience, their bodies inflating along with their talents. Mr. Radcliffe (as Harry) especially is impressive, maybe having learned from his "exposing" run in the London production of Equus. A fault line may run beneath Michael Gambon as he portrays the ineffable Professor Dumbledore though. More high school principle than Santa Clause this time around, the harsh corners of his Dumbledore might run frustratingly contrary to the Dumbledore book loyalists know and love. But, again, no complaining here. His frown is a mark of the times and is apt.
Yes, maybe the stubborn cheerfulness is gone. But in its place is a silvery maturity that's preposterously impressive. The story is admittedly transitional, less self-contained and satisfying than the upcoming Half Blood Prince. But its execution flawless. It's a mark of mastery for this evolving series.
Samuel Osborn
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