Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Emma Watson, Imelda Staunton Directed by David Yates
Rating: ***

n the final lines of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Hermione asked, "Everything's going to change now isn't it?" Ample warning that in The Order of the Phoenix, the forces of good will feel ever more outnumbered and outmanoeuvred, while the forces of evil will increasingly resemble the politics of fear and repression we recognize from our Muggle universe. 

Something is rotten in the world of magic. The evil wizard Voldemort is back, but concealed interests in the Ministry of Magic are trying to suppress rumours of his return, primarily by discrediting Harry (Radcliffe) and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). While Voldemort’s supporters regroup, the Ministry appoints Dolores Umbridge, played with superb excess by Imelda Staunton, as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts to interfere with Harry’s defensive plans. 

The grim turn of events, and Harry’s own adolescent gloom, have seeped into the landscape: the ruddy English countryside around Hogwarts is now a bleak moor, and the school itself is looking less like a fairytale castle and more like a Gothic basilica. From the first scene, where Harry is attacked by dementors, the film vibrates with real menace. 

Phoenix resonates more than ever with the insecure feeling many people have about world events – fortunately, just as strong today as in 2003 when Rowling wrote the book. Umbridge, looking like a fanged Laura Bush, constantly makes unnerving statements. "I am a tolerant woman but the one thing I will not tolerate is disloyalty," she scowls, and later, "Laws can be changed when necessary." She is prepared to use the illegal cruciatus curse to torture a confession out of Harry. Behind everything we can hear the scaly creep of authoritarianism. It is like a children’s parable about how, in a society wracked with fear, truth-telling becomes marked as conspiracy and sedition.

The thrills are also fantastic, and the special effects shine, as in an early broomstick-race down the Thames, and at the climax of the film, a pyrotechnic wand-duel that should put Peter Jackson to shame. Yates has a fantastic eye for composing the new, thematically complex locations like the Ministry of Magic, which layers modern bureaucracy and medieval intimidation on a place of magic and fantasy. 

Amidst all this, it sometimes seems like Yates forgot he was directing a children’s film. The movie provoked a few rounds of giggling, but an equal number of frightened wails. The longest book in the series has been converted into the shortest film, so the movie jogs through intricate character development – especially the troubling psychic connection between Harry and Voldemort - and hops from plot-point to essential plot-point. This was the major complaint to be heard in younger voices outside the auditorium. But the fine performances from the young wizards, who hold their end up against the veteran actors, should be enough to keep you spellbound.

High Fives

bollywood

1. Aap Ka Suroor
2. Apne
3. Aawarapan
4. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
5. Jahan Jaiyega Wahan Paiyega

Hollywood

1. Transformers
2. Live Free or Die Hard
3. Ratatouille
4. Harry Potter: Order of Phoenix
5. 1408

Classical

1. Songs From Labyrinth (Sting)
2. Music of John Dowland (Sting)
3. Music For Compline (Stile Anttico)
4. Voice Of The Violin (Joshua Bell)
5. Appassionato (Yo-Yo Ma)

Courtesy: Film Information