Writer Unboxed

We’ve neglected them, but no longer.  Movie Analyses are back!  This time, Therese and I managed to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and being the screenplay buffs that we are, we’ve dissected the movie for its storytelling aspects and overall merits.  If you’re sick of Pottermania, we can’t help you this week. Here goes.

Kathleen:  Hurrah!  I finally got to see a summer popcorn movie and it was a doozy.  I adored Harry Potter and Order of Phoenix.  I thought it had the right combination of action, storytelling, and compelling cinematography.  And it didn’t hurt that the cast was stellar in terms of acting.  These movies are getting better with each offering, imo, which is really hard in a series where the norm is to get bogged down in too many characters and subplots *coughPirates3cough*.  What were your initial impressions?

Therese: Forget Pirates 3, what about Spiderman 3 – yowza. Trim a plot, please. But about Harry:  I was delightfully surprised with the movie. In general the film versions of JK Rowling’s tomes have disappointed me, but this one was spot on­–a great visual supplement to the book itself. I wouldn’t want to be going to see this flick without having had the benefit of the prior read, however. I think I’d find the pace breakneck, the plot somewhat scattery and the atmosphere uber-bleak. Which is why we recommend reading the book first, right?

KB:  Absolutely.  READ THE BOOK FIRST.  I had some grrr moments reading some negative reviews from reviewers who whined and moaned that they’d seen this story before: Harry’s threatened at the Dursleys, he goes to Hogwarts, bad things happen, then he faces off with enemy Voldemort.  I mean, that’s the source material.  What did they expect, a complete revisionist retelling?

But I think screenwriter Michael Goldenberg did the right thing in this adaptation.  He concentrated on Harry.  Every scene forwarded Harry’s struggle, both internal and external.  The teen angst that mildly annoyed in the book was perfectly played in the movie.  And I didn’t miss Quidditch at all.  The heart of the story, for me, is the struggle between one person who has love in their life, and the other who has turned his back on love.  Who will triumph?  I thought they nailed the theme in a subtle and beautiful way.  What did you think of the choices Goldenberg made? (To read a great interview with Michael Goldenberg, click HERE)

TW: First, I’m so glad you mentioned the reviews. They made me want to rip my hair out, because you could tell who’d read the book and who hadn’t (Roger Ebert, for example). Phrases like, “Oh, it’s so dark…so much angst. Where have the lighthearted scenes from previous movies gone?” Um, there’s a progression here. You didn’t see a mass of frolicking hobbits in the 2^nd or 3^rd films, did you? You didn’t see a lot of smiling witticisms from Luke, Leia and Han in the 2^nd Star Wars, either. Hang in there. It’s the dark before the storm, before the darker and stormier and then, hopefully, the light. It’s fantasy, and it’s what we expect from the genre.

I think Goldenberg did a fantastic job staying true to the tone of Rowling’s book, and even improving on it. I agree with you about the teen angst and constant anger present in the book, and how it played more evenly in the film. And though I loved all of the goings on at the House of Black, the choice to cut to the chase, get Harry to trial and then school, get the story moving, was a good one, IMO.

But I have to say the pace felt frenetic to me at times. I thought Goldenberg could’ve taken a page out of Peter Jackson’s book and milked the tension in his fight scenes. Everything was so quick. Great for kids who barely would’ve had time to create a memory that would later become nightmare fodder, but not to good for the regular old moviegoer. Make us squirm. Show us struggle. Show us pain. Biggest disappointment: the utter lack of emotional fallout after Sirius is killed. A huge part of the book, and a huge thing for Harry. Did you miss this?
 
KB:  Yes.  I felt like they cut parts of the fight scene for pacing, like Sirius’ death and Bellatrix’s torturing of Neville.  Not that I love watching death and torturing, but that’s the stuff that makes the Death Eaters scary.  Also the color palette was so dark during the fight I had a hard time figuring out what was going on.  I will say this: Ralph Fiennes makes a GREAT Voldemort.  My skin literally crawled (no pun intended) when he was on the screen.  And Dan Radcliffe is really coming into his own as an actor.  He had to carry the movie, and he did it well.  Not so impressed with Emma Watson.  Too many eyebrow movements and head-jerks.  And wasn’t it a treat to watch these great British actors in action?  What did you think of Imelda Staunton as Umbridge?  Isn’t she about the best villain in recent memory?  A fluffy pink fascist.  Genius.

TW: If only Umbridge had been in the fight scene, eh? Her dictatorial character created great tension throughout the film: teachers’ jobs at risk, Quidditch banned, Harry being punished ala self-mutilation. Every aspect of Hogwarts was changed, or at least challenged, by her presence. I remember reading the book and feeling so frustrated by her every move, and though critics may complain about the lack of Voldemort and too much pink, the filmmakers stayed true to Rowling’s story.

Imelda Staunton as Umbridge was brilliant! The giggle, the strut, the flush of frustration whenever things weren’t going her way. I couldn’t wait for Grawp to have his way with her. Jason Isaacs was a wonderful Lucius Malfoy, Evanna Lynch a delightful Luna Lovegood, and I thought Katie Leung made a great Cho Chang. It was funny: when Cho and Harry bent in for their kiss, someone in the theatre hollered out, “Knock it off! He’s mine!” And, no, it wasn’t me; I adore Alan Rickman as Severus Snape–what a perfect match of actor to role. Interesting that one of the scenes they chose to keep was the flashback of Snape being tortured by Harry’s father, eh?

KB: The British have an embarrassment of riches with regard to acting talent.  I’ll confess that the tiny ”flashback” to Snape’s past was the scene I was most interested in.  In the book, Lily makes an important appearance, but I didn’t see her in the movie unless she went by too fast for me to catch.  It’s been my pet theory that Snape’s love for Lily was the reason he’d turned to the side of good when she was killed.  Guess we’ll find out pretty soon if that and other theories bear fruit.  

Come back tomorrow, when Therese and I dish about character growth, pacing, and mild annoyances with the film.

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