MY MOVIE SHELF: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 57 Days to go: 40

Movie #383:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

So now the quest for horcruxes begins in earnest. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are preparing to set out as soon as Harry turns seventeen and is no longer a minor under magical law. For Hermione, who has non-magical parents, this means wiping their memories entirely, so as to protect them from anyone who might want to get to her. For Harry, his own muggle family the Dursleys (beautifully played over the course of seven films by Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw and Harry Melling) are evacuating the house on Privet Drive. And soon the Order descends on the house to pick up Harry himself, secreting him away to the newly protected home of the Weasleys. (Several of whom will be disguised as Harry himself — a fun bit of comedy and special effects to get the ball rolling. The Weasley twins (James and Oliver Phelps), especially, are great fun at all times. If you do not have a favorite, and if that favorite is not Fred (James), then I don’t understand you at all.)

This first action sequence is both thrilling and terrible, as the Order is attacked by Death Eaters and not everyone makes it out alive. Mad-Eye (Brendan Gleeson) is killed, but sadder still is the loss of Harry’s loyal owl Hedwig. This, plus the injury to George, sets the tone right from the start: No one is safe. Lives will be lost. The final confrontation is near.

But before that confrontation can come, the three friends are forced to go out on their own and fumble about, trying to find the missing horcruxes, to figure out what they even are, and to prepare themselves for the meeting with Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). And Voldemort is preparing too. As we see in Harry’s dreams and visions, Voldemort is after something as well. He wants a wand, the Elder Wand, in fact, a wand said to be the most powerful in the world.

The animated telling of the story of the three brothers, wherein the legend of the Deathly Hallows emerges, is one of the most beautiful and haunting sequences in any of the films. Narrated by Hermione, the tale identifies the three magical objects known as the Deathly Hallows — the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak. These three items can help one become master over death, able to defeat it, and they will be invaluable to the wizard that claims them.

More than any of the other films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is about the relationship of these three friends, about their fears, their strengths, their weaknesses, their passions, and their loyalty. It’s about the strong sibling-esque bond between Harry and Hermione, the brotherly love (and sometimes rivalry) of Harry and Ron, and the growing love and closeness between Hermione and Ron. The movie is almost naturalistic in this sense, focusing simply on the mostly aimless wanderings of three young adults, trying to make their way, to reach their goals. But for all that simplicity, there is also quite a bit of action and suspense in this final installment before the end.

There are several attacks on the trio as they live on the run from Death Eaters and Snatchers, both in the woods, on the London streets, and at the home of Xenophilius Lovegood (Rhys Ifans). There are also the scenes involving the locket horcrux, when the friends sneak into the Ministry thanks to the Polyjuice potion to steal it from Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), plus the scene in the Forest of Dean when the patronus of a doe reveals to Harry the location of the Sword of Gryffindor, which can destroy the horcrux. (This is the third time Harry nearly drowns, though he is thankfully saved by Ron, who rejoined his friends thanks to the deluminator left to him in Dumbledore’s will — an object that first appeared in the first scene of the first film in the series.) The actual destruction of the horcrux is also pretty harrowing, playing on every one of Ron’s insecurities. And then there’s their capture and escape from Malfoy manner, as Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) tortures poor Hermione and dear sweet Dobby the Elf (voiced by Toby Jones) loses his life to save the others.

Sadly, not every aspect of Rowling’s exquisite book could be included in the film, and the tale of Kreacher (voiced by Simon McBurney) — one of my most favorite, most heartbreaking scenes in the novel — is all but entirely lost. But the overall story of the first half of the book is held remarkably intact and I find myself incredibly grateful that the finale was split into two films. For how much more could you cut?

Next, we open on the close, in which Voldemort has the Elder Wand (stolen from Dumbledore’s tomb) and things will finally come to an end for Harry Potter.

MY MOVIE SHELF: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 59 Days to go: 41

Movie #381:  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

If you’re going to pit Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) against Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), it had better be a major battle. No wand sparks and streams of green and red light emitting from forcefully pointed sticks. There had better be destruction. Chaos. All hell breaking loose. Thankfully, the filmmakers of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix understood this, and the final battle in the film is one for the ages, with fire and floods and shards of glass and complete havoc wreaked inside the Ministry of Magic, nearly tearing it apart. It’s everything a magical confrontation of the two most powerful wizards should be. It even ends with Voldemort briefly possessing Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and tormenting his mind in terrible, frightening ways. But even the terrorizing, merciless acts of Voldemort don’t hold a candle to the real villain of Order of the Phoenix: Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton).

Dolores Umbridge is a Ministry official intent on quashing talk that Voldemort has returned. In an effort to discredit Harry’s and Dumbledore’s claims that he has, she takes the open Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts and then uses her influence with the Minister Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) to appoint herself High Inquisitor — a position of great power than allows her to fire teachers, ban activities and use corporal punishment (or even torture) on students. As a teacher she is practically useless, offering the students no actual skills or defenses, instead insisting on teaching them strictly theory via a child’s textbook, as a means to simply pass their assessment tests but not gain any real knowledge, but as High Inquisitor she’s a despot, cruelly interrogating students with veritaserum (or the Cruciatus Curse, if it suits her), having them followed, and forbidding any and all activities that could be considered independent or against her rule. She is racist against “half-breeds” like centaurs, she is gleefully sadistic and power-hungry, and she is the enemy of free thought.

In every way, Dolores Umbridge gives off a feeling of unease, like she is not to be trusted, and once again, this is evidence of J. K. Rowling’s imaginative and thoughtful storytelling. If something is dolorous, it is mournful, bringing about pain or grief or sorrow. And umbrage is a feeling of offense or annoyance or hostility. Rowling gives her villain a name using homonyms of these words to express someone who, despite her sunny, perfectly pink wardrobe, affection for fluffy kitties and high, cheerful voice, is incredibly off-putting, offensive and hostile. She brings nothing but grief and sorrow and pain to people at Hogwarts, interfering with the school on every level, and eventually deposing Dumbledore as Headmaster when the Ministry attempts to arrest him for building an army against them.

Dumbledore’s Army, as it is called, comes into being not by Dumbledore’s hand, but by Harry’s as he, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) convince other students that Voldemort is out there and that they have to learn how to defend themselves. The students band together and meet in secret, in the hidden Room of Requirement, practicing stuns and patronuses and all sorts of other defensive magic, with Harry as their teacher. It’s one of my favorite sequences in all the films — indeed, I think Order of the Phoenix is the best of the films overall — because it involves so many of our favorite students interacting with one another and building confidence in their abilities. Plus you get to see many of their patronuses — always a favorite insight into their character.

The characters in Order of the Phoenix expand as well, as we’re introduced to many people outside of Hogwarts who are also part of the titular Order, secretly amassing against the Death Eaters. In addition to characters we already know, like Sirius (Gary Oldman), Lupin (David Thewlis), Moody (Brendan Gleeson), the Weasleys (Mark Williams and Julie Walters) and (to Harry’s displeasure) Snape (Alan Rickman), there is also Tonks (Natalia Tena) and Ministry guard Kingsley Shacklebolt (George Harris). And there is the introduction of the headquarter’s secret location, in the hidden Black family home, where House Elf Kreacher (voiced by Timothy Bateson), will prove important later. And at school we also meet the unique and incomparable Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) who, in addition to Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps), Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) and Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) will become instrumental to the cause as well. But there aren’t just new good guys, however, as one of the most notorious followers of Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), is broken out of Azkaban and proves to be a deadly addition to Voldemort’s crew.

There are a lot of things going on in Order of the Phoenix, both inside Hogwarts and out, and it is clear that an all-out war between good and evil is inevitable and forces are mounting. The magical world is no longer limited to the school, just as, at fifteen the world tends to open up beyond that of your school and home life. Bigger issues are at play, and sometimes terrible things will happen, but, in Hogwarts as in life, Harry is best equipped to handle them because of his friends, because of his loved ones and because, “We have something worth fighting for.” As the forces of good and evil come ever closer to confrontation, Harry and the members of the Order are all going to have to cling to those things more than ever.

MY MOVIE SHELF: Shakespeare in Love

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 193  Days to go: 136

Movie #245:  Shakespeare in Love

There was a very big scandal at the Oscars the year Shakespeare in Love won over Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. Everyone was shocked. Everyone was appalled. It sticks in all their craws to this day. Not me. I saw this win coming a mile away, and I don’t regret it at all. Spielberg can have his Best Director; he earned it — absolutely — for the Normandy scene alone. But Shakespeare in Love was the better overall movie experience, I swear to God. I will die on this hill.

Saving Private Ryan is a masterful film, brilliantly told and beautifully shot, but, not to put too fine a point on it, it’s a huge bummer. It’s great yes, but it’s not the kind of movie you can watch over and over again. It’s not the kind of movie that brings the excitement of anticipation or the glee of satisfaction. Shakespeare in Love, on the other hand, is all that and more. It’s funny. It’s clever. It soars with the emotions of passion and heartbreak. It teases, it thrills, it withholds and it satisfies. And it always leaves me wanting more.

This is the story of William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes, looking his absolute yummiest) as he struggles to write his next play. He feels broken and unappreciated. He’s lost his gift and his muse. Nothing is going his way. It is also the story of Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), a young lady of high birth who loves the theater more than anything and wants nothing more than to be a player on the stage and have poetry in her life. She auditions for Shakespeare’s new play (which he has not written yet) under the name of Thomas Kent, performing a scene from Two Gentlemen of Verona. Will is fascinated by this mystery boy and he follows him, only to be led to Viola’s home, where he sees her dressed as herself for a party. They love from afar until Will discovers Thomas Kent’s secret, at which point they plunge headlong into a doomed affair that inspires Shakespeare’s tragic love story masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet.

The film is full of inside jokes and references not just for Shakespeare fans but for theaterphiles as well (John Webster likes it when they chop off people’s heads). And for fans of Elizabeth I, there is the performance by Judi Dench that garnered a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for seven minutes of work, though I swear if Imelda Staunton had been more well-known at the time her role as Viola’s nurse may have been in the running itself. There’s also Geoffrey Rush as Mr. Henslowe, the owner of The Rose theater, who commission this play, but keeps thinking it’s a comedy entitled Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter, Tom Wilkinson as Mr. Fennyman (he’s the money, so he can stay), who gets to cameo as the fateful apothecary, Colin Firth (with dumb facial hair) as Lord Wessex, buying our Viola from her parents to be his bride and go with him to America, Rupert Everett as Christopher Marlowe, who is much more revered than Will by all except Viola, and Ben Affleck as Ned, the most smug, arrogant, fantastic caricature of a stereotypical famous actor ever put to screen. I swear, it is the best performance of his life. (“He dies??”)

The movie is fun and romantic and sad, and it interweaves with the rehearsals of the play just perfectly. I want to live inside it and never leave. But it ends, “as all things must when love is denied, with tears and a journey.” The Queen declares the final play to be one that shows the true nature of love, though “what God has joined, not even I can put asunder.” Still, she asks for a comedy from Master Shakespeare for his next play, and he will write it, even though he’s sick with love. “It’s a beginning.”

In the closing lines, the new play begins:

“My story starts at sea, a perilous voyage to an unknown land. A shipwreck. The wild waters roar and heave. The brave vessel is dashed all to pieces. And all the helpless souls within her drowned. All save one. A lady. Whose soul is greater than the ocean, and her spirit stronger than the sea’s embrace. Not for her a watery end, but a new life beginning on a stranger shore. It will be a love story. For she will be my heroine for all time. And her name will be Viola.

If that doesn’t make you want to read Twelfth Night to see how the story continues, you’re a stronger soul than I.

MY MOVIE SHELF: Sense and Sensibility

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 202  Days to go: 142

Movie #236:  Sense and Sensibility

Perfect, perfect, beautiful movie. Sense and Sensibility gets better each time I watch it, and I’ve watched it a lot. Although not her film debut, this was my introduction to Kate Winslet (though sadly also my introduction to her unfortunate and unflattering tight curls) and the solidification of my esteem for Emma Thompson. It was a return to my favor for Hugh Grant, whose films since Four Weddings and a Funeral had been disappointments. And it was a complete overhaul of my image of Alan Rickman, who went from suave villain in Die Hard to quietly suffering romantic hero here. Most of all, though, it’s given me a lifetime of breathlessly shouting “Willoughby” across a crowded room.

Sense and Sensibility is a tale of sisters — Elinor (Thompson) and Marianne (Winslet) — diametrically opposed in personalities by forever bonded by love. Elinor is the oldest daughter and assumes a lot of the responsibility of the family after their father passes away and they are forced out of their home. She is reserved and practical, and while she unexpectedly finds herself falling for her sister-in-law’s brother Edward Ferrars (Grant), she is bound by decorum and common sense not to make a fool of herself over him. She is disappointed, of course, when they part, but he’s made no declarations and no promises, so she has no choice but to carry on with her life.

Marianne, on the other hand, wears her heart on her sleeve. She is all passionate enthusiasm or crushing disappointment, depending on circumstance. She understands the conventions of society, but when it comes to matters of the heart, she has no respect for them. To her, to hide one’s feelings is to lie. So when she meets the older, staid Colonel Brandon (Rickman), she makes no effort to hide her disinterest, and when the dashing John Willoughby (Greg Wise, who Thompson was smart enough to take up with and eventually marry for herself) emerges from the mist like a hero straight out of a romance novel, again Marianne sees no point in hiding her infatuation. When a mysterious scandal sends Willoughby to London, however, and Marianne meets up with him some time later at a ball, she is devastated by his cold regard. Further, when it is revealed that he has abandoned his intent to propose to her in favor of marrying an heiress, Marianne’s depression and despair engulf her.

Over the course of the film, both sisters suffer for their loves and both learn from the other. Elinor finally is able to express her grief over the loss of Edward, in a scene as heart-wrenching as anything Marianne could conjure, and Marianne learns to respect the steadfast constancy of Colonel Brandon, whose affection for her is no less ardent, and whose commitment to her is far more reliable. And while Marianne’s new romance is calm and caring, Elinor’s emotional outburst and learning that Edward is, in fact, not married to the former Lucy Steele (Imogen Stubbs), who married his brother instead, is a moment of raucous laughter and tears combined. It’s a heartwarming and wholly satisfying end.

The primary characters are all fabulous, and the supporting characters are great as well. Mrs. Dashwood (Gemma Jones) has an incredible collection of hats. Charlotte Palmer (Imelda Staunton) is a bouncy, twittering nightmare, while her Hugh Laurie as her husband, the biting Mr. Palmer, makes me cackle with glee at his open contempt for her gossiping frivolity. Fanny Dashwood (Harriet Walter) is essentially perfect as the snobbish and selfish and greedy antagonist to her husband’s half-sisters. And the fact that Margaret Dashwood (Emilie François) doesn’t have her own spinoff of pirate adventures makes me want to write one myself.

Emma Thompson is basically my hero, and I love that she adapted this screenplay herself. It’s sharp and affecting and expertly paced. Ang Lee’s gorgeous direction makes it easily one of the most beautiful, best films of its release year, and it frustrates me no end that Thompson’s screenplay was the only one awarded an Oscar. In my heart, it deserves so much more.