Watching a film. much like reading literature, is a deeply personal and introspective affair. Ones own personal experiences and history can have a profound impact upon the viewing of a work of media and this means that every film-going experience can be different and transformative in different ways. Especially if the content of that media presents subjects or situations which are deeply troubling for a viewing audience.
This can oftentimes result in the film becoming difficult to watch for some audiences, regardless of the overall quality of the piece in question. This is, I think, an apt descriptor for the experiences of triggering media on an audience.
I say all this because it's time once again to review the next entry in the Harry Potter franchise, the fifth film in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the subject of triggering content is something that this film really touches on for me, as I will discuss later on.
Now, it's been a few months since I last reviewed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and a few years since I reviewed Prisoner of Azkaban, but now its time for me to take a look at the film that I would probably say is one of the most highly-regarded and structurally strongest films in the franchise. In some ways, I would say that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the golden standard and yet, as I will go over in the review proper, I also find this film the most difficult for me personally to get through and the one that I have probably watched the least as a result.
***
- Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Directed by David Yates
- Running Time: 138 Minutes
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
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SUMMARY
Harry Potter's fifth year of school is a time of trial and tribulation. Though his archenemy, Lord Voldemort, has returned and begun to move in the shadows in his quest to conquer the Wizarding World, the magical government of Britain is engaging in a smear campaign against both Harry and his mentor, Albus Dumbledore, convincing everyone that they are lying for attention or in a plot to overthrow the government themselves.
Isolated and defamed by those who once called him a savior, Harry's life is further complicated by the schemes of Dolores Umbridge, a ministry official who seeks to control Harry and enforce the Ministry's will over Hogwarts, and will do anything to achieve that goal. So now Harry mus contend with not only Lord Voldemort and his legions of dark wizards (all seeking some strange object in the heart of the Ministry), but the very government that Harry is trying to save. And the conflict will not only hit is home at Hogwarts, but also his very soul, mind, and memories.
***
REVIEW
I truly do think that on a technical and production level, this is easily the best film in the Harry Potter series. David Yates does a fantastic job as director here and since he ends up being the director for all subsequent films in the series, it ensures a uniform vision and tone for the series going forward, something I have criticized on several times in the previous films in the franchise.
And the nature of that vision and tone is undeniably dark and oppressive. This is a film fundamentally about government corruption and political oppression, using the subtext of teenage rebellion to a weave a darker tale of overcoming an oppressive authority in the pocket of subversive and reactionary powers (no idea why such a subject might be relevant to modern audiences). And every aspect of this movie, from its visuals to its music, is in service to this theme of rebellion and oppression.
The visuals of Order of the Phoenix are some of the best in the franchise, though tremendously understated compared to the sheer scale and scope of Goblet of Fire, its far more effective because of how strangely grounded this film is in comparison. Goblet of Fire was about spectacle, with massive set pieces and a huge cast of characters. Order of the Phoenix is about substance, with every single scene and subject being purposeful and intentional. Every shot a masterful means of showing Harry's isolation, trauma, and triumph over forces seeking to break him down.
And at the head of those forces lie to characters, inextricably linked thematically and yet so very different tonally. Lord Voldemort and Dolores Umbridge. Now Lord Voldemort is an easy enough villain to understand, you bog standard evil warlock/lich leading a band of wizard Nazis trying to take over the world. Easy to understand and not all that thematically complex, added additionally in the fact that he isn't really a physical presence in the film so much as an ever-present shadow over all proceeding events. The truth of the matter is is that Voldemort isn't really the primary antagonist of this film, if anything he is more the surprise boss that shows up at the end to twirl his mustache and cause problems.
The real antagonist of this film and the reason I have such difficulties watching Order of the Phoenix is one Dolores Umbridge, Hogwart's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
What a bitch.
I'm serious. This woman is easily one of the most notorious elements of the Harry Potter franchise, renowned for being hated by fans even more than the literal leader of the wizard Nazis. And its not entirely difficult to understand why. Most of us won't ever come across someone like Voldemort, an all-powerful tyrant bent on world domination, but I think every single one of us has met or knows someone like Dolores Umbridge, a small petty person who uses their unwarranted position of authority to make the lives of other people harder just to make themselves feel powerful and in control.
This makes her an extremely effective antagonist for a film about corruption and government oppression as this magical Karen uses her minor authority and connections to terrorize Hogwarts and downright torture Harry Potter and his friends. You genuinely grow to quickly hate this woman and it makes the film all the more effective for it. You immediately sympathize with the students and their minor forms of rebellion to simply overcome such a petty banal kind of evil.
Of course, it is that same banality of evil that makes it so difficult for me to personally watch this film. I have long had a hatred and deeply visceral response to scenes of bullying in media, due to my own personal experiences and history. I am especially triggered by instances of authority figures and adults bullying children (which is why I often have difficulty watching Roald Dahl adaptations like Matilda or James and the Giant Peach). The thought of adults using their position of authority to abuse and mistreat others fills me with such an incandescent and uncomfortable amount of rage that I often find myself unable to actually enjoy the experience of watching a film.
As a result, Order of the Phoenix is probably the Harry Potter film that I have watched the least, despite it being, in many ways the best production-wise, most consistent narrative-wise, and possessing some of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise. I just can't always deal with Umbridge and her banal tyranny.
Thankfully, when I can manage to stomach watching the pink toad, the film is actually incredibly strong. It has some of my favorite pieces of music (especially the Weasley twins theme that plays towards the climax of the movie). The final fight in the Department of Mystery is absolutely stunning and I don't think has been topped in any other film (even the Battle of Hogwarts in the final film isn't as good, IMO). But what I think really makes this film shine is that Harry is actually an active participant in the action of the movie.
In previous installments to the franchise, Harry is surprisingly and frustratingly passive, usually only reacting to situations as they happen rather than actively seeking to sort out problems directly. In earlier books, this made a degree of sense as Harry sort of stumbled into the Philosopher's Stone and was forced to deal with the Chamber of Secrets because no one had the skills necessary to find it. But in many of the other films, Harry ends up largely wandering with his hands in his pockets until someone or something finally pushes him into confronting the actually problem at the heart of the film.
In Order of the Phoenix however, Harry's passivity isn't intentional but rather the consequence of the adults in his life actively keeping him out of the loop, an action that has disastrous consequences as it clashes with Harry's developing sense of teenage rebellion. The connection between teenage rebellion and political rebellion is a beautiful mixing of themes that could only really work in a setting like Hogwarts, and it leaves Order of the Phoenix feeling like a tragedy in the making. It's like a car accident, you can't look away but you hate to see where all these actions will inevitably lead, especially as Harry spends the film finally being proactive and dealing with problems in his life, only to see those actions lead to even more tragedy for him and his friends.
Order of the Phoenix is incredibly dark and ultimately tragic, singling it out as unique among the rest of the franchise. While several films in the franchise end on bittersweet notes, Order of the Phoenix is decidedly grim-feeling, despite the characters arguably ending up in a better place then when they started. With wonderful visuals and music, dynamic and intriguing (if sometimes enraging characters) and powerfully consistent theming, Order of the Phoenix has all the makings of a great war movie, which only makes the next film in the franchise feel all the more out of place.
But that is a story for another time.
VISUALS
- 8/10
SOUNDTRACK
- 8/10
CHARACTERS
- 8/10
STORY
- 8/10
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
***
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