Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Like the novels on which they are based, the Harry Potter films have grown increasingly dark and complex with each installment. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) follows up on Harry's encounter with Voldermort in the last competition of the Tri-Wizards Tournament, an encounter that ended with the death of Harry's friend and rival Cedric Diggory. In the new film Harry finds himself increasingly isolated and confused. His mentor Dumbledore seems to ignore him, his fame and false rumors cause schoolmates to view him with suspicion, and he is visited only infrequently by his godfather Sirius Black, one of the only people whom he trusts. Voldemort has reappeared in the world and is gradually infiltrating the Ministry of Magic and even Hogworts itself with his agents. Dumbledore is deposed as headmaster of the school, and a new headmaster, Delores Umbridge, an agent of the Ministry of Magic and even, we suspect, of Voldermort himself, is installed in his place. She institutes repressive new measures to prevent Harry and other students from learning new skills that will enable them to resist the rise of the dark wizard.

The fifth novel describes all these events in detail, and the film does a good job of presenting and embellishing the novel. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix may not be the best film in the series. I would give that distinction, so far, to the third film, with the fourth film in second place. But Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a good film nonetheless, and in many ways it is the film that comes closest to presenting the spirit and the details of its source. It has been interesting to watch Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint grow and mature along with the characters they are portraying. Though the novels and the films based on the novels do differ from each other in various ways, it is difficult to separate Harry, Hermione, and Ron from the actors who portray them. The fit is good indeed.

Along with the underlying theme of Harry's gradual preparation to meet his destiny and to take on the responsibility he was born to, revolt is the basic theme of the fifth film. (Rowling has asserted that she chose the name Harry for her main character to emphasize his ordinariness. However, it is difficult not to connect his first name with the unwilling prince Hal of Shakespeare's plays Henry IV parts one and two. There are significant parallels between the characters, whether Rowling intended them or not). To rebel, one must have rebel leaders strong in character, and that is what we have in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry agrees to instruct students in the various arts of wizardry, even though these students have been forbidden to study such subjects. Rebels must have a strong adversary, and that is what Delores Umbridge (played to formidable yet comic effect by Imelda Staunton) provides. The way in which the students who make up "Dumbledore's Army" learn their skills and grow in certainty and confidence provides much of the pleasure of this film.

Director David Yates is not well known for his films, but he rises to the occasion in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This must have been a difficult story to film because it has less action than the preceding films. It relies more heavily on character development than the others. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix moves the story bravely forward and leaves us waiting impatiently for the next installment even if, having read the next novel, we know what it will bring. Each film in the series has had a different director, yet they fit together as tightly unified and distinctive episodes in the Harry Potter saga. Here's hoping that the sixth and seventh installments maintain the levels of quality established in the third, fourth, and fifth installments.