Film Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by Philip Key, Liverpool Daily Post

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, (Cert 12A, 138mins)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs and Michael Gambon
Directed by David Yates

AS SCHOOLBOY Harry Potter grows up, so do his movies. The Warner Brothers logo at the opening appears in black and white with a storm cloud behind it, which suggests that this is not going to be a movie of merry fun.

And so it proves with a strong political theme behind the plot and Harry spending much of his time being fairly miserable.

Who can blame him when the Ministry of Magic is running a campaign against him accusing him of lying and using his magic powers inappropriately?

He had actually used them to fight off two scary ghost-like creatures known as Dementors, creatures which had attacked his old adversary Dudley Dursley.

For this he is called before a sort of magic inquisition and faces expulsion from Hogwarts School. Happily for him, his friendly headmaster Dumbledore appears to defend him and, in a show of hands, he is acquitted.

The campaign against him and Dumbledore goes on, however, as the Ministry, led by Cornelius Fudge (a stern Robert Hardy), does not believe Harry’s contention that the evil Lord Voldemort has returned. Of course, he has, with Ralph Fiennes quite menacing as the skeleton-faced character.

The Ministry imposes a new Professor of the Dark Arts on the school, Dolores Umbridge, a smiling assassin played by the glorious Imelda Staunton in pink tweedy outfits. She imposes so many new rules and regulations that they end up filling a wall.

She has also announced that wizardry will be taught in an academic rather than practical fashion, something that does not please Harry as he thinks his fellow pupils will need training for the battles to come. So he gives them some secret training away from prying eyes.

Ultimately, there is a battle and – for the time being – good has triumphed over evil.

It is a very dark film, with a lot of politicking and much of the plot taking place in sunless places – the opening attack in a dimly lit underpass is typical.

Most of the regular characters return, rather a lot of them now, which can make it confusing to those new to the Potter tales. But performances are great with almost all of Britain’s character actors on parade to supply their cameos (Liverpool’s Jason Isaacs as the evil Lucius Malfoy puts in a fairly late appearance, but makes the most of it with his insinuating manner).

The visuals, however, remain remarkable, from the imaginative sets to the extra bits of business that happen at the side of the screen, changing newspaper headlines and moving paintings among them. Miss Umbridge’s room with its cat plates featuring mewing kittens is particularly effective.

There are a few longeurs – Harry’s wand-waving lessons can get tedious – but this is offset by a streamlined version of the longest of the Potter books, the film superior to the book, according to the Potter fan who accompanied me.

And there are moments of good humour – I rather enjoyed Miss Umbridge’s magical move resulting in boys’ shirt-tails getting tucked in to their trousers.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix may not be the jolliest of the Potter movies, under new director David Yates, but it now has a certain adult gravitas that the others have lacked.

philkey