MetaCatholic

When I first read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (I’m one of those sad enough to clear my diary for publication day!) I found it the least satisfactory of the books. Puzzling over why this was, I decided that it was because the larger story arc of the series had actually taken over from the particular story arc in the book. That in Phoenix was not strong enough to hold its own in tension with the greater plot. To a large extent I find the film more satisfying as a self-contained story, even though the greater story now looms dominant around the individual episode.

The “set pieces” of the book are all there and vividly brought to the screen, even if the story line is (as always) stripped down with some details altered. But one of the reasons the film feels more complete than the book is the vividly and imaginatively rendered battle of magic in the Ministry. Though considerably simplified from the book, the main ingredients are all brought to life, and despite being special effect heavy, the actors aren’t dramatically overwhelmed. Indeed the death of Sirius is more powerfully rendered in the film, as Potter and Black fight for a moment side by side, with Sirius for a moment calling Harry by his father’s name, just before he is killed and passes through the veil. The visual power of the whole denouement, matched by the emotional power of the bereavement, and the visual strength of the final internal struggle of Voldemort with Harry, is followed by only a short tidying up of the plot-line, and means that effectively the film ends with a dramatically satisfying climax.

The second reason the film has a more complete story-line is that the question of Harry Potter being taken over by Voldemort comes more to the foreground than it does in the book. First, because the dialogue about Harry being possessed is altered and now between Harry and Sirius and not Harry and Ginny, and carries more emotional power. Second, because the film makes much more of Voldemort attempting to possess Harry at the end (coming quick on the heels of a an effective presentation of Harry using an Unforgivable Curse). Rather than a quick moment of narrative, followed by exposition by Dumbledore, it becomes a major visual focus enhanced by special effects, and a good performance from Radcliffe. The inner drama of Harry’s battle is well presented, and brings a number of disparate strands of the film together. Harry’s inner torment, and the threat of Voldemort, together with the problems of aloneness and alienation from his friends, reach a unified resolution.

The other great strength of the film (which here is very faithful to the book) is the magnificent performance of Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge, who well demonstrates that “One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” In one sense, her performance almost shows the weakness of having narratives with characters of pure evil, like Voldemort. Her saccharinely menacing pink fluffiness, and her pursuit of cruelty in the name of protection, offers a picture of evil that is far more complex than that of those who actively pursue and embody it. This picture of goodness corrupted offers an interesting counterpoint to Harry’s own fear about whether he will be corrupted. It is perhaps a shame that more was not made in the film of the bullying antics of James Potter to Severus Snape, which in the book were disturbing to Harry who could no longer hero-worship his father in quite the same way as before.

In sum, this is not only a greatly enjoyable film, but, for the first time, by its making some of the themes of the book more explicit, it is, I think, not only a good (and faithful) interpretation of the novel, but actually a better and more complete narrative.