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David Yates' Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

by Kathryn Durfee
07/19/2007

Long gone are the days when Hogwarts was fun. The fifth installment in the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, reveals how grim the wizarding world has become since the return of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Yes, Harry has gone up against this dark wizard in the past, but never at near-full strength. Sadly, spells are now used for protection rather than fun and learning, there is no time to play with magical creatures, and Quidditch is abandoned for more serious endeavors.

Phoenix is easily the darkest of the series so far, and we all know it only gets gloomier from here. This film opens in the suburbs of London, more closely resembling 28 Days Later than the earlier Potter films. When rotund cousin Dudley and his thug friends taunt Harry on the playground, the sky turns dark and the wind picks up. Dudley and Harry are attacked by a pair of Dementors, but when Harry uses magic to get rid of them, he is informed by the Ministry that he will be expelled from Hogwarts. Not only did he perform magic outside of school, it was done in front of a Muggle. But really, did he have much of a choice?

Harry awaits his trial at the Ministry of Magic in the company of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society formed to work against Voldemort. The headquarters are located in the old family home of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), Harry's godfather, and members include the Weasleys, Black, and a handful of other characters introduced in previous films (most of them are former Dark Arts professors).

One of the jury members singled out during the trial is Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), later revealed to be the new Defense of the Dark Arts professor. Sporting perfectly-tailored skirt suits and delicately holding a teacup, she refuses to let her students perform any spells and instead believes everything they need to know can be learned by reading textbooks. In response, our three main characters form a secret group called Dumbledore's Army, where Harry teaches his friends the spells he believes they need to know to defend themselves against Death-Eaters.

This film, like the book, takes the Potter series to a new depth. Director David Yates, known mostly for his television work, succeeds in transforming the series. The whimsy of the earlier films is gone: no friendly ghosts wander the halls of Hogwarts, there's no time for Quidditch, and very little is seen of the grandfatherly Dumbledore. The slightest amount of attention is given to the O.W.L. exams, which serve to illustrate that the only two students still having genuine fun at school are Fred and George Weasley. The story instead concentrates on the concept of the invasion of a near-perfect world by pure evil.

Phoenix represents the longest book of the series made into the shortest film to date. Lovers of the book series will see that much has been left out (though that may be in part due to the choices the previous director and screenwriter made when adapting book 4), but the film does remain faithful to the main plot points. For those that get their Potter-fix by film alone, the story is tightly written and fast paced. The downside is that Phoenix is really the only one of the series that cannot stand alone. It serves as a bridge from the 4th to the 6th films.

In addition to delighting audiences worldwide, the Harry Potter film series is becoming a showcase for British filmmaking and features a long list of big names including Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Imelda Staunton, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, and of course, Maggie Smith.

Phoenix opened strong but may soon be overshadowed by the release of book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last of the series. Those who love the books have probably already seen the movie and already know what's coming next, but for what it's worth, the summer is the time for big-budget blockbusters, and Phoenix delivers.

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