Film and Felt

Let’s get to the meat & potatoes; I love Harry Potter. Absolutely love J.K. Rowling’s mystical world, from the exquisite detail that she packs into every line, to the hordes of magical creatures that roam each book. So, I’ve approached all four movies with a different mindset than most. From the very start, when Chris Columbus began work on the first Harry Potter picture, Warner Bros. had a few options:

1. They could really try to make these movies their own entity, which would involve lots of finagling with the story, heated discussions with Rowling (who’s still working on the series, with the highly anticipated Book 7 due out in the next two years), and alienation of the millions of die-hard Potter-heads out there.
2. They could try to draw as closely from the books as possible, knowing that they’d be leaving scores of details on the dusty cutting room floor, but that the fans would get to see their beloved characters on screen following—more or less—the crux of Rowling’s vision, using their own knowledge of Harry Potter to fill in the many blanks.
3. They could try to strike some balance between the two, at great risk to being even remotely successful at either.

Number one is out, because Rowling made it clear she wouldn’t stand for it, and it’s too dicey an approach from a financial outlook: while the HP name alone would insure tons of ticket sales, a drastic shift from the thematic core would be unwise from a business standpoint. Perhaps a version with more leeway can be produced in 30 years, when the fervor has died down and Rowling is a bit more detached from the project, but for now, it just wouldn’t work. Number three might have worked with a top-notch director at the helm for the entire on-screen series, but even that could have led to sprawling disaster. So, the studio opted for #2. This has led to a choppy, rushed narrative from a purely cinematic standpoint: though the movies so far have varied in level of execution, I believe all four would be a mixed bag at best when analyzed from a strictly critical perspective. You pretty much need to know the books fervently to get more out of the movies than mere entertainment, using your dorky background knowledge to fill in the gaping blanks. Oh, the films can be enjoyed on their own terms, with their charm and wonderful special effects and sets, but the level to which they can be admired is, to these eyes, limited.

Having said all that, I’ve enjoyed all the cinematic installments thus-far to some degree, and that’s because they’re made for fans like me. These pictures aren’t designed to rope in new gaggles of enthusiasts—anyone who becomes a HP aficionado due to the movies is 1) a bonus, and 2) in for a treat when they read the books. These aren’t Lord of the Rings. What they are is a chance for the real aficionados to ooh and ah at their treasured characters and events, and Goblet of Fire presented Warner Brothers with their biggest challenge yet. Along with having yet another new director (Mike Newell of Donnie Brasco and Four Weddings and a Funeral), Goblet of Fire represented the turning point of the entire franchise, a 1000+ page behemoth where Harry & company realize that their world is about to be turned on its ass. Following up Alfonso Cuarón’s superb adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Newell finds himself staring a huge challenge in the face: to trim without gutting an ongoing classic. How does he fare? Well, the holes and omissions are gaping at times: Barty Crouch’s death should have just been cut entirely, considering how it was handled, and the Quidditch World Cup features stunningly little Quidditch. The fascinating Severus Snape (played so slimily by Alan Rickman) has no more than a handful of lines, as do most of the supporting characters other than Mad-Eye Moody (a gleeful Brendan Gleeson), and Dumbledore (where Michael Gambon fails to adequately capture the headmaster’s inner calm and unflappable demeanor). It’s possible that those unfamiliar with the books would leave Goblet of Fire having no better idea of what a Death Eater is than three hours earlier. And why do Fred and George have more lines than Draco Malfoy?

However, Newell’s not without his assets. The misty world of Hogwarts is portrayed perfectly, especially the gripping trials of the Tri-Wizard cup. The cinematography and swooping shots are extremely effective at making witchcraft & wizardry feel very real. Many of Goblet of Fire’s most critical moments—particularly the graveyard climax, the forbidden curses, the Yule Ball, and the aforementioned trials—are handled with aplomb, and most (not all, but most) of the sequences that made the cut were extremely satisfying to this HP lover. Goblet of Fire is largely about the growing pains as the children inch towards adulthood, including love and all that comes with it, and Newell does a strong job of painting adolescent jealousy, crushes, and discomfort. The dialogue sputters occasionally, but really avoids the cringe-worthy moments that were too prevalent in Chamber of Secrets in particular, and Cedric’s death is handled brilliantly: no slo-mo, but boom! On the acting front, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry finally shows he’s more than some doofus who happens to look like young Potter, actually generating some real emotion in the role. Emma Watson (Hermione) probably has the brightest future as an actual actress, and Gleeson steals the show as the barking, boorish, good-guy (sort of!) Auror Moody. Rickman and Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall are their normal fantastic selves, albeit with far too little to work with. Other standouts include Stanislav Ianevski as Viktor Krum, Miranda Richardson hamming it up as the sugary bitch journalist Rita Skeeter, and Robert Pattinson as the noble Cedric Diggory, who was always one of my favorite hybrid characters in the novels. When his ghost whispers to Harry, “take my body back to my father,” my eyes began to glisten. It’s likely someone who hasn’t read Rowling’s masterpieces would look at me cockeyed upon seeing my tears, but fuck it: I’m sure they have their own pleasures. Seeing Harry’s world unfold on celluloid is one of mine, and Newell does plenty to make it a treat.

© Gabe Leibowitz 2005