Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Stanislav Ianevski
Directed by: Mike Newell
IT might as well have been named Harry Potter and the Cauldron of Teenage Dilemmas, as the reluctant, bespectacled hero has more trouble asking a girl to the ball than eluding a nasty-tempered fire-breathing lizard.
Indeed, Harry and his cohort of friends and enemies at Hogwarts are getting their first tastes of romance and jealousy. The wand-waving protagonists seem more concerned with the fledging new sensations than with the dire straits Harry is manoeuvred into by his constantly scheming archenemy.
Having absorbed the 157 minutes of the increasingly brooding spectacle (including a record 11 minutes of end credits), one gradually recognises that the juggernaut franchise has found a way forward. Daniel Radcliffe’s height and mutating voice outstrip that of his character and the Warner Bros near conveyor-belt Harry-Potter output might well be robbed of novelty and inspiration. Their way of dealing with the issue is the most obvious, and it is surprisingly effective. Alfonso Cuaron provided a vital transfusion of creativity from the director’s chair with the previous installment and Warners’ next hired hand repeats the trick here. Mike Newell is the first Briton to take charge of the proceedings and his contributions are vital in keeping the series on track.
He seems to intuit the evolving interest of the first, and most enthusiastic, set of Harry Potter fans who have grown up along with the characters. Hence the wide-eyed order is swapped for your typical teenage menu of tantrums, tentative head games, misunderstandings and what have you. The Goblet of Fire is far removed from the inviting motley cheerfulness of Chris Columbus’ first film of the series. It is a rather dark affair which will make many a young viewer think twice before committing himself or herself to magical studies. The art direction often evokes the imagination of Terry Gilliam (consider the court scene or the dress code in the Ministry of Magic), which adds to the menace lurking around every corner. More importantly however, the darker approach and the decision to bring genuine emotion into the spotlight means that the group of young actors is no longer a frequently irritating bunch of kids with things happening to them. Newell asks more of his young cast and they deliver with varying degrees of success. Surprisingly, Daniel Radcliffe comes out with the biggest credit, and this is the film that hints there might be an actor lurking inside him after all. His stuttering attempt to ask a girl to the ball is genuinely endearing and is the film’s unexpected delight.
The girl he asks is not his best friend Hermione (Emma Watson), but Chinese girl Cho Chang (Katie Leung) sporting an affecting Scottish accent. She is one of many newcomers from the mammoth book which has J.K. Rowling stepping into Alexander Dumas territory. The number of meaningful characters is tripled in one burst as Hogwarts, Harry’s school of magic, hosts a legendary Tri-wizard tournament: a gathering of, you guessed it, three academies of magic represented by a single competitor selected by the goblet. The plentiful new faces are allotted brief screen time and the way to tell them apart is the entertaining visual coding, which is over-simplifying yet memorable. French school Beauxbaton’s all-girl team has a collective image that is a combination of an airline stewardess and Mary Poppins. The third school represented is Durmstrang. Their all-boy lineup evokes the Hitler youth and the Politburo in equal degrees, with some Shaolin-esque club-wielding thrown in for good measure.
Durmstrang’s representative in the Tri-wizard tournament is Bulgarian Quidditch star Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski), whose grim looks are undoubtedly modelled on those of football legend Hristo Stoitchkov. Beauxbaton’s champion is one Fleur Delacour whom Harry’s best friend Ron (Rupert Grint) hopelessly falls for, while Hogwarts is represented by a Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson). Bizarrely, the goblet chooses a fourth contestant by the name of – you guessed it again – Harry Potter. This is said to be against all the rules, but he is installed as a contestant nonetheless, making him an impostor in the eyes of his fellow students and the person everybody loves to hate. Harry insists he had nothing to do with his unorthodox selection for the team, but few listen. The postings of cynical gossip columnist Rita Skeeter (Miranda Richardson) don’t help his case. The one person willing to support Harry is the new professor of Defence Against Dark Arts “Mad Eye” Moody (Brandon Gleeson), but even he has little to offer when it comes to Harry’s recurring nightmares of Voldemort, the evil wizard who slayed his parents.
As necessity dictates, there are sinister reasons behind all that unfolds, and at the end the scene is set for an even darker and gloomier continuation. After this film, Harry Potter is no longer content with being the hero of pre-teens and an object of affection for condescending parents. He now aims at the sympathy of the teenage crowd, a male Buffy The Vampire Slayer for the masses, if you will; and just about earns it.
