Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Ralph Fiennes
Director: David Yates

No Quidditch, and practically no Hagrid, Draco Malfoy or even Dudley. This Harry Potter is about a little less magic and a lot more sadness. A friend died in the last film/book, and his hair cut short, a jacket over his buttoned-down, tucked in T-shirt, 14 year old Harry has suddenly grown up.

No Quidditch, and practically no Hagrid, Draco Malfoy or even Dudley. This Harry Potter is about a little less magic and a lot more sadness. A friend died in the last film/book, and his hair cut short, a jacket over his buttoned-down, tucked in T-shirt, 14 year old Harry has suddenly grown up.

He even has a crush (as we have been repeatedly hearing) kisses her under mistletoe, but this is a serious, disturbed Harry, weighed down under his powers, trying to fight off Voldemort’s attempts to make him do his bidding. Asked by Ron and Hermione about the kiss: Harry’s reaction is “it was wet…. Cho had been crying.”

The longest among the Harry Potter books till now, The Order of the Phoenix marks the start of the dark period in Harry’s life as Voldemort (Fiennes) gains in strength and the boy wizard starts living with the reality of death, including God father Sirius Black’s death. And the film realizes and captures the grimness of the novel.

The mood and the settings are gloomy, even spells are considered too dangerous for students’ own good. There are no silly pranks, no swishing of wands for a laugh, only quiet preparation for the battle between Voldemort’s forces and Dumbledore’s.

And then there is Dolores Umbridge. A stooge of the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts, she has been sent to keep an eye on Dumbledore and Harry. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge believes that the two are making up stories about Voldemort’s return to weaken his position, and Umbridge is sent as a new teacher of Defence against the Dark Arts to stop them.

Skittering down Hogwarts corridors, keeping a hawk eye on students, she dresses in shades of pink and sprinkles her conversation with the tiniest giggles. Rarely has the color or the sound symbolized anything more sinister. Acknowledged by Harry Potter author J K Rowling as among the most horrible characters she has created, Umbridge is played to marvelous perfection by Imelda Staunton.

While you hate her, there is never a dull moment on screen as long as she is around. In a 170 minute film where Voldemort appears only in last 10 minutes, and which sometimes threatens to drown in its gloominess, Umbridge nicely keeps the ball rolling.

Radcliffe too shows that he is evolving as an actor, conveying the weight Harry carries on his shoulders. Director Yates does well in contrasting it with the innocence that still remains in Hermione (Watson) and Ron (Grint), despite the fact that they come closest to sharing Harry’s burden.

With the seventh and final Harry Potter book releasing next Sunday, Rowling couldn’t have hoped for a better pre release gift. Watching the Order of the Phoenix, die hard fans will be reminded of what to expect from a grown up Harry.