GORGEOUS RED-HAIRED BOYS AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
So I actually did it, and I can’t believe it, but there were two, COUNT THEM, TWO people dressed in costume to see Harry Potter. A woman with a stupid looking crap outfit and storebought hat, and Me. The entire rest of the 400 or so people who went to the Burbank multiscreen where we like to go looked like the usual cheap and tacky L.A. teens to 20s I’ve come to expect from this place. There were two girls behind us in line in t-shirts that were humourously commemorative at least (”I solemnly swear I am up to no good”), and they were true nerd fans such as myself — and even THEY just wore their T-shirts. That was IT.
But the WORST:
A really little girl noticed me and said “Look mommy, someone wore their Halloween costume.”
I looked down my reading-glassed nose and managed to force a tepid smile, but truly, that was disheartening. That child in an earlier era would have been agog. Remember that word, agog? I like it. It gapes, as one should, with awe. This little child was already well poisoned with reality, all the fascination had been soundbitten out of her. Tsk, tsk.
L.A. is NO FUN. They are so afraid of not looking like people on TV. I miss San Francisco….. I really do…..
Of course my worries were forgotten once we got inside, sat down in the 6th row (wheeeee! I love being close up) and got past the 15 commercials and 5 or 6 trailers (I’m not kidding, it went on for at least a half hour).
Looks first: I HAVE to grab you and tell you, this film is utterly gorgeous. Visually, it topped even the last one by a longshot, and I was in love with the last one.
It’s easy to make wondrous things visually because they have so very many great locations: a wizarding tournament in an arena that tops Floston Paradise in 5th Element; a water-towers scene that looks cribbed from Myst, but who cares; it’s lovely. There are Great Hall scenes that are exuberantly overwhelmed with glitter and candles; rooms glutted with curious and ornate shiny objects, a lovely aerial castle snow scene; a harrowing dragonfight on a turret-top; a tall ship that majestically rises and submerges a la Baron von Munchausen; swooping hippogriffs; a vicious foggy green maze; a rather surreal Brazil-like courtroom scene; and two equally cool tents. I mean this film had scene change after scene change and EVERYTHING was dripping with beauty and extra care — even to the frosted or tarnished chromed opening-title font.
The costumes were great as usual, I wouldn’t have changed much. Even the stupid trainer-like suits the contestants wore for the goblet competition were tasteful, colorful and not that usual.
Now to content, however:
The beginning of the film seemed very terse on dialogue; and since the previous films are chatty and familiar, that felt like an odd shift. But given the amount of information and scenes that had to be crammed into 2 and a half hours, I’m not surprised certain things were clipped.
People who have not read the book will be a bit let down by the lack of development in all these characters, or even missing implications that really were not able to be touched on. It’s been noted that they might have dropped the Rita Skeeter character entirely (the reporter), but Miranda Richardson’s 20 or so lines are so rich with saccharine deception, it was worth it. She is an expert at anything she chooses. Maggie Smith is sterling as ever; Brendan Gleeson has both terrific punchy moments of comedy and frightening sternness as Mad-Eye Moody. Alan Rickman (Snape) can communicate more with an 8th-of-a-beat pause than most actors can in an entire film. However, Gary Oldman and Ralph Fiennes are somewhat wasted on this film in my opinion. Gary because he remains only a voice in the fire, and Ralph simply not being EVIL enough for how I had envisioned Voldemort.
As for the main star trio, our kids are growing so fast, and so attractively, it’s very refreshing to see them maturing. Daniel has grown sharp and stronger looking and is doing a credible job; Emma is looking thinner and appropriately sophisticated, but she still retains her annoying overmugging concern through most of it. Rupert’s longer locks and new and more sophisticated emotions give him an endearing Bill-and-Ted dorky teen persona. I think, of the three of them, I find him the most engaging because he simply seems the most real. I never tire of looking at the subtleties of his face, while I do of the other two. The Weasleys are in general more evident in this film; the twins Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) have a much bigger part than previously and they are as hilarious as they are charming. I think I have a crush on Oliver — what a smile! No, no maybe it’s James?. Hm. No I think it’s Oliver. What a pleasant quandry.
I think people who have not read the books will find a good number of flaws with it as a movie (particularly the rather abrupt wind-down ending) because you never find the character development required to bring out SO MANY characters, for lack of time. There is a great visual sense of build-up to certain scenes cinematically, but it overshoots the capabilities of the accompanying screenplay.
There are so many things that could not be shown or told, also because this book of Rowling’s was in particular dealing with the issue of pressure: mental strain and anxiety that Harry faces daily, which doesn’t translate to screen well. And there’s as much time spent on fledgling flirtations and growing up as there is on the dangers of wizardry, whereas there should have been a heavy emphasis on the terrors and threats, as it was in the book, for good reason. It ends feeling a bit unconvincing.
Oh well. I think I really must see it again; you go ahead and choose: Read the book and fill in the blanks. And/Or: Spend the bucks. It’s worth it just for the broomride.
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=) enjoyed reading. Dad likes Sam Hui too.
take care.