The Rediscovered Joy of Harry Potter & the Order of the Pheonix

For over a decade my perception of Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix was left brushed aside and overlooked by my nostalgic love of the early films and reverence for the epic conclusion of the Deathly Hallows. Last night I revisited Order of the Pheonix for the first time since it's theatrical release when I was 11 years old and upon second viewing as an adult it dawned on me that the film has more to offer.

Warner Brothers

Order of the Pheonix is the first movie where the atmosphere and tone is dark throughout the entire runtime. While all the previous movies had their dark moments, with Order of the Pheonix gone are the bright autumn colors and the sweeping joyful fanfare of John Williams. 

The Wizarding World is no longer a warm welcoming place of escapism for Harry, but a sociaty that has turned their back to him. While there are jokes and gags throughout the film, the look of the film consistantly has dark blue tint. At age 11 (the same age as Harry in his first year at Hogwarts), I was not ready for the series to look and feel this drab.

What was surprising when I revisited this film as a 24-year-old is that loved it for all aspects I originally perceived as reasons not to revisit this film. It dawned at me that Order of the Pheonix and the films that followed encompass the awkward teenage years, as wide-eyed pre-teen optimism begins to wither away. While Rowling's writing in the books and the first four films brought me to a place of comfort, when I first watched this film I had a harder time watching the darkness of the character's life being projected on the big screen. While the early films had their elements of dread and sorrow sprinkled around, they also had sweeping shots of Quidditch, cheery Christmas festives, and heartwarming applauses during the final meal in the Great Hall that brought a fulfilling sense of optimism. Throughout Order of the Pheonix, any sort of optimism is gasping for air as the impending grip of Voldemort slowly tightens. As an adult, watching this ragtag group of rebelious teens work through this gloomy dark world, brought a whole new sense of meaning to the film. Near the climax of the film when the characters we have grown to cherish are running for their lives through dark narrow corridors and dodging deadly curses thrown their way from Death Eaters, it occured to me I had discovered a new relatable fondness for Order of the Pheonix. Where despite the darkness and accepting life may not go back to the way things used to be, the characters choose to fight through the darkness for what they believe is right. 

The film concludes with our heroes mentally preparing for more gloom and sacrifice in the future, a far cry from the heartwarming celebratory Great Hall feasts that gave characters a chance to unwind. When viewing this film from a more experienced lense, I found comfort life's darker atmosphere and tone being portrayed on the screen. In the age of Covid-19 and growing fear of what the coming Winter may hold, I can strongly recommend rewatching Order of the Pheonix as it is a dark movie about confronting fear while maintaing to be action packed escapism.

Now to see if I can shave off any teen agnst ridden bitterness I have facing the Half Blood Prince...