Film the Fifth

Tonight dear cousin Jane braved the wiles of a sick Clara and came a-babysitting so Kristin and I could take in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. A huge thanks to Jane for the babysitting offer, as well as being such a good babysitter.

We walked into the theatre with 10 minutes to spare. My eyes fell up two center seats, albeit lower in the theatre than is my preference, when someone waving and calling out my name caught my attention. It was our friend Paige! Of all the places showing Phoenix, of all the screenings at said places, we happen into the same one. And she and her friend Joanne happen to have empty seats next to them. As we sat down we remarked that fate helped us keep the 'see every Potter movie with Paige' tradition alive. ("It is fate, but call it Italy if it pleases you, Vicar.")

It must be noted that I walked into this movie with certain expectations. First, book five, while a book I greatly enjoyed, is one of tougher books to get through, owning to its length and Harry's teenage angst. Second, movie four was incredibly weak. Lastly, the trailer for movie five all but screamed, "This is why I'm hot!" There was action, Harry getting his Cho on, and Helena Bonham Carter; an exciting sample that was equal as enticing. I was pumped to see this movie. As the opening bars of Hedwig's Theme rolled out, I grabbed Kristin's arm and squeezed it to communicate my excitement. This was going to be good.

And by and large it was! The movie ended up being my second favorite, closely following on the heels of Azkaban. (Cuarón's interpretation was memorable in oh so many ways.) In fairness, films one and two, simple translations of scenes from the first books onto the screen, might have scared off viewers had they made too strong a departure. Columbus was building the foundation for a multi-billion dollar franchise. Movie four, on the other hand, had no such excuse. Cuarón had already blazed the trail. Newell could have done better.

For movie five the screenwriter made some interesting choices as far as reworking scenes and events into a coherent story. In the process we lost the zits spelling 'sneak' but he did manage to keep the "emotional range of a teaspoon" and "you've got to admit he's got style" quotes. There was also a shout out to Dumbledore's brother, but that's Kristin's connection to share.

The music was very well done. The composer was Nicholas Hopper (looked him up and didn't see anything familiar). During the opening sequence, the entr'acte if you will, he played with Hedwig's Theme - a risky move, playing around with a Williams composition - to great effect. A few songs sounded almost Thomas Newman-esque. One of the best choices was to forgo music for the final dual between Dumbledore and Voldemort. The sound of the battle and visuals built excellent tension. IMDB says he is signed on to do the music for movie six.

All that being said, the movie wasn't perfect. My chief complaint was the handling of two scenes in particular, leading Umbridge into the forest and the stand-off in the department of mysteries. Each felt like it lacked a build-up to a key moment - Umbridge being carried away, Sirius' death and the breaking of the prophecy - which I feel could have help build tension and emotion for the most-engaging final fight. Also, Helena played Bellatrix a little weirder than I suspect Bellatrix to be. But then again, this is the wife/partner/whatever of Tim Burton we're talking about. You've got to expect a little freakiness.

On the way home I commented to Kristin that the movies really have to be taken as individual artistic expressions, which happen to be set in Rowling's Potter universe. When it comes to canon, we have the books and interviews with Rowling. Sure the movies are important, but just because the screenwriter focused on a certain theme it doesn't mean Rowling intended that to be the primary statement for the novel.

All that said, go and see the movie. It's a great time.