Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates, 2007)

After the mess that was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell, 2005) I was extremely wary of this fifth Harry Potter instalment. The fourth movie of the series tried to cram about 600 pages in two and a half hours, resulting in a patchy narrative that hinted at much but delivered little. It was a CGI-driven venture that ended up looking like a glorified, overlong trailer.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix avoids falling into the same trap. Although the original source is the longest book yet of the series (over 800 pages), David Yates's film uncompromisingly grabs the bull by its horns and focuses on the most important aspect of Harry's fifth adventure.

I remember discussing the book with some kids a few weeks after it was published. The youngest of them didn't care much for it as they were annoyed by the fact that Harry was angry most of the time. The elder ones, on the other hand, loved it from beginning to end because they could easily relate to what Harry was going through. Problems at home, at school, feeling misunderstood or underappreciated, sexual attraction, having doors slammed in one's face, added responsibility; these are issues that J K Rowling tackles in her book and the film makes it quite clear from the very start that this is what it is going to take on.

The mandatory initial clash between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Dudley (Harry Melling) happens in a derelict playground in a barren neighbourhood that is more reminiscent of Se7en's (1995) head-in-the-box scene rather than London. The first time Harry appears is in silhouette, followed by a shot of his shadow, as he lies listlessly on a swing. The director thus alerts us immediately to what this film is going to be about: not just weird creatures and flying broomsticks, but Harry's dark mood. Far from mind-blowing filmmaking, but still, a breath of fresh air.

This approach is maintained throughout the rest of the film. The focus remains solely on Harry's inner turmoil. So much so that entire chunks of the book have been left out, including the Quidditch match. Yates also opted to assume that the audience flocking to see the film will already know who the secondary characters are (such as Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), Sybil Trelawney (Emma Thompson), Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), etc.), and therefore refrained from any unnecessary loitering on background information.

(Having said this, I believe that a film should stand on its own two feet without having to rely on the presumed knowledge that the audience brings with it. But what the heck. This isn't Citizen Kane (1941), it's Harry Potter!)

Favourite moments: the swooshing broomstick journey over London and the final battle between Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).

Labels: 2007, bonham carter, cinema, coltrane, fiennes, gambon, gleeson, grint, oldman, radcliffe, smith, staunton, thewlis, thompson, walters, watson, yates