McNutt Against the Music

So I’m going to make this one rather short, because my brother was way ahead of the ball and got his review online while I was busy with White Stripes coverage. And I basically agree with most of what he says about the film. So I’m just going to say it in a slightly different way.

The Order of the Phoenix is one of the better books thus far in Rowling’s Harry Potter saga; I’d probably rank it only behind Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. But it was also the book that probably was in the direst need of an edit. Like Harry’s emotional angst, it was overwrought and excessive, no matter the quality of much of the content within. So it was actually the film adaptation that I was most looking forward to. I was pleased when I when I learned that it was going to be the shortest of the Potter films thus far, and became ridiculously excited when I saw the stunningly awesome trailer, one that put most films I’ve seen this year to shame.

David Yates, more or less, does an impeccable job bringing Order of the Phoenix to the big screen. He’s got visual flair and a solid sense of the dramatic, and he’s continued the series’ stunning casting with Imelda Staunton perfectly nailing Professor Umbridge’s particular brand of benevolent fascism. All of the actors once again bring their A-game to the table and the script does a great job (for the most part) knowing what to keep and what to cut. Best of all, putting Harry’s teen angst into movie form is way better than having to read his repetitive thoughts over and over again on the page.

It’s not in the adaptation where Yates’ Order finds its problems – it’s in the source material. Generally, every Harry Potter book has two distinct story arcs going on: the yearly Hogwarts mystery and the unveiling of the Voldemort storyline (which, usually, plays a more secondary role). In almost all the books, these two storylines merge at the book’s conclusion when the characters – and us – find out that they were connected all along.

The structural problem with Order is that this doesn’t happen – the events at Hogwarts are in reaction to Voldemort’s return but not directly related to it. This poses a problem when the Rowling wants to make the confrontation with Voldemort its climax, because they’ve spent the majority of the book building up the Hogwarts storyline. The transition between the two of them is awkward and saps the story of its dramatic energy and leaves its climax almost entirely unearned.

For all that Yates may cut, edit or improve with his adaptation, this structural flaw remains, and it’s the biggest reason why I think I left the theatre feeling let down in spite of the film’s many positive qualities. If anything, the transition is handled even more poorly in the film, with an element of Umbridge’s character introduced way to late in the film to make her final scene work. In one other crucial area – the film’s major death scene – a certain magical device isn’t explained in the film which makes a death that supposed to be sudden and shocking seem sudden and weird.

(That’s right – I’m not spoiling the story of a book that’s been out for over four years. Take THAT any of the stupid asshats who are spoiling Deathly Hallows.)

I’m not sure whether it’s because of the dedication of the Harry Potter fanbase, or the fact that the movies are being made while books in the series are still being written, but the entire series of films has been slavishly loyal to Rowling’s books. Chris Columbus basically didn’t add any personal stamp to his films at all (mainly because he doesn’t have one) and the triad of directors that followed often made cuts but never altered the original plots.

One wonders if this hasn’t limited the films significantly – Peter Jackson’s acclaimed adaptation of Lord of the Rings, for an obvious comparison, made all sorts of changes but was all the better for it because (for the most part) they made the stories more palatable in the film medium. The Harry Potter film series has not produced a truly bad film, but, with the exception of perhaps Alfonso Cuarón’s Azkaban, none of them have been particularly great either. Might the next great Potter film come from a director willing to break the rules and see what happens?

Five down, two left to go…

(Hmm…that wasn’t so short at all! Dammit!)

Watch: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer