Bohemia Bunny

Would you like chips with that Order?

July 26th, 2007 by lynnylchan under Comments

Warning: Spoilers ahead for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” movie.

Plot hole:

Why does the Ministry of Magic make its denizens move through the potentially hazardous (to wizarding folk) Muggle world in order to get to their headquarters in London? Granted, many of their staff Floo in, but Harry and Mr Weasley take the circuitous route.

Style:

Quick comments on the Dementor attack: Where are the Dementors’ hoods? And the Dursleys don’t seem angry enough, or maybe that’s because having read the books, I know how much longer the actual scene drags on. Bonus points if you noticed the stark difference between the playground field, and the lawns of Privet Drive. Any Potter reader will be able to tell you the reason. Oh yeah… what’s a dotty old lady like Mrs Figg doing living in a (presumably) snooty neighbourhood like Privet Drive?

A little stylistic thing I noticed: The propensity to wield wands as though they were weapons of a more Muggle nature. Bellatrix holds hers like a knife, poking the point into her hostage’s neck and then holding it across his throat, which is something you do with a knife. This rankles me a bit, simply because of the non-magical provenance of the gestures. I also thought Bellatrix was a little too nutso, but 14 years or so in the presence of our dear joy-sucking Dementors will do that to you. She’s so totally my inspiration for this upcoming part I have in the hall orientation programme.

I loved the revamp in the Death Eater costumes - now instead of looking like Klan members who dyed their robes black, they resemble the Immortals from “300″ with their metallic face masks. Jason Isaacs is delicious in his limited role as main minion of the Dark Lord, and the style with which he removes his mask should illustrate why I refer to him as “Pimp Daddy Malfoy”.

In previous films, I’ve noticed that Snape has an almost balletic way of moving, and in what little we see of him, he shows off more snazzy moves. He doesn’t just turn around, he pivots like a dancer. He doesn’t rummage, his hands seem to glide along the surface with controlled, spare movements. And although I was roundly derided for saying this, I shall reiterate my point: Young Severus is rather a yummy morsel. It’s probably the hair working its effect on me again. That, and I tend to find young Slytherins disturbingly attractive. Teenage Tom Riddle in “Chamber of Secrets” was quite hot, really. Hey, it’s no secret that I own a Slytherin t-shirt, so I might as well declare my allegiances loud and clear.

The Devil is in the details.

A lot of content has been cut from the books, but some has been added in as well. The part I missed the most was from the chapter “Christmas on the Closed Ward”, which has one of the most touching family scenes ever, involving Neville and his parents. It was an important point in the development of the Neville character, and while it’s addressed later in a modified setting, the drama just isn’t the same.

Those who have read their way through the 768-page book (the longest in the series) and have committed details to memory will feel the lack of detail, but non-fans won’t notice anything missing and may even wonder why we’re making such a fuss. It’s a huge challenge to reduce a door-stopper of a book to a 138-minute film, and sacrifices have to be made - no Quidditch, for starters, although if you pay attention, you can see that Harry’s Seeker skills come in useful in a pivotal action scene.

The character viewers will love to hate comes not in the form of Draco Malfoy and his two bodyguards - they’re denied a proper amount of screen time, and Draco gets just the one line - but in the odious Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary of… whatever, just another power-obsessed Ministry official. Her first shady doing smells slightly of Dark magic, but when she threatens a student with one of the Unforgivables, you know power has gone right to her pink-hatted head.

It’s a real pity about the members of the Order getting short shrift, and what’s with Kingsley? I always thought he was the strong, silent type. Tonks is restricted to mild, almost childish comic relief. Lupin appears out of nowhere to restrain Harry towards the end, and it was the first good look I’d had at his face in the whole film. Not a lot of Kreacher either - he’s too hateful and costs too much to produce, being 100% CGI and all. No problem there, though - we don’t have time for Hermione’s preachings on house-elf liberation.

Words to live by:

The black smoke trails that the Death Eaters left behind them as they fought the members of the Order in the Department of Mysteries were quite pretty, but it played into the ol’ visual shorthand of “dark, evil side” vs “white side of light and truth”. Redemption from preachiness is to be found in Sirius’ encouragement to Harry: “… the world isn’t split into good people and death eaters. We have all got both light and dark inside us.” Well said, my man! Let’s all recognise the greyness that is life, and not restrict ourselves to just white or black.

Grow up please.

Now on to the lovey-dovey bits. There were comments from my friends that Harry was too sure of himself for a first kiss, which is true. You can’t aim very well when it’s your first time, and your eyes are closed, and you certainly don’t go in for open-mouthed kissing immediately… but that’s just me. For all I know, our boy Harry’s been getting in extensive practice on his pillow. It was strangely pleasing to see that the kiss got more than a cursory coverage - Harry’s growing up, and if you don’t want to live with the realities of a teenage boy’s discovery of the joys of puberty, don’t watch a show about said boy. I can live with seeing the protagonist have a snog.

As romantic as first kisses are, they don’t guarantee longevity for a relationship, and in the film they barely had one anyway. If you’ve read the books, you’d notice that they’re setting up the scene for the next movie, where Harry moves on to another girl. Hem hem *Umbridge giggle*. Little glances and hand-holding, very very obvious! Although certainly not as obvious as that couple making out in the corridor. That’s really way too much, even with raging hormones taken into account. You don’t so much as hold hands in school, much less make out. In broad daylight. In a crowded corridor. Brazen!

A lot has been stylized in the movie, again in the interests of time, I suppose. The intricacies of performing magic are given less emphasis, except when they’re part of the plot as in the training sessions for the DA. Notice that Bellatrix crawls into a fireplace and disappears in green flames - a trademark of the Floo network - and yet she is not seen to use any Floo powder. I suppose, this being the 5th movie, we’re all past our fascination with wizarding gadgets and magical implements, and just want them to be getting on with the story.

Apparently this is the shortest Potter movie yet, and you can feel it in the rushed-ness of the movie. It’s not a bad movie, it has its merits, and faithfulness to the source should be thoughtfully defenestrated when occasion calls for it. Still, a little explanation might have sweetened the experience for non-readers, although certainly not to the point of Umbridge’s 3 spoons of funny-looking sugar. It was sweet to be reminded of how chubby-cheeked and tiny the 3 main actors used to be, in the form of Harry’s memories being forced out of him by Professor Snape, the accomplished Legilimens. The characters are growing up, their actors are growing up, and the movies will follow the book series in taking a darker and more adult turn. “Order” was rated a PG-13 for frightening scenes, and I remember that “Chamber” was rated PG for frightening scenes involving the Whomping Willow. It can’t get any more violent, since children watch this stuff, but I expect to jump in fright a few more times, gasp in horror at the evil done in this world, and shed a few more tears before this franchise reaches its end.