Bit of Ivory

It’s interesting. In some ways, I feel like I’ve come full circle. You see, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was my first real “fan” type experience. I read the first three books in late May of 2000. So Goblet was the first HP book I waited for. I attended my first midnight party (I stupidly didn’t pre-order, and didn’t show up until 11:00, so I had to wait until 1:00AM to get the book) on July 8, 2000. I stayed up late and read (not all night, because I had to work the next day). I managed the refreshments at my bookstore’s HP launch party, then came home and read. I lay on my living room couch, trembling, as I read about Cedric’s death, Voldemort’s return, and Fake!Moody’s true identity.

When I actually entered the fandom about a year later, Goblet was the most recent canon. I dissected that book for 3 years, trying to guess what would happen next, debating ships, and rereading it in anticipation of Order of the Phoenix. It’s always been special, even though it wasn’t my favorite.

So, it’s gratifying to see it made into such a good movie. Finally see these things on screen. I think the discussion between me, Katy, Krista, Kelley, and her family is representative. We spent the entire time talking about things we liked. Contrast that to the after-PoA discussion at Wahleecon: we did almost nothing but nitpick.

I can’t find very many things to nitpick about this movie. So I’m going to gush instead.

First off– the acting. I thought it was superb. Emma hit all the right notes for Hermione, I thought. A much better performance than PoA. Rupert was awesome as Ron, and it was great to see him act a wider range of emotions than “scared” and “upset.” And Dan. Dan. Absolutely amazing. I want to go see the movie again, just to gawk at his mad acting skilz. Some of the moments just kill me. I also adored Matthew Lewis; thought he was spot-on with Neville in this one. Bonnie was awesome as well– even though she only had a few lines, they were delivered naturally. Way to make her more visible this time around, too, in preparation for the next couple of movies. Brendan Gleeson was great, Ralph Fiennes was amazing, Robert Pattinson was hawt very likeable as golden-boy Cedric, Stanislav Ianevski was good, though underutilized, and Clemence Poesy was quite good. Hmm. Anyone else? I’m wondering who decided to play Dumbledore the way he’s been played, because I’m not quite loving Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore, but I’m not sure if it’s his fault or if he’s just doing what he’s told (like Rupert has been in the past couple of movies).

I loved that we got to see Fred and George actually being Fred and George. Sets us up for their grand exit in OotP.

The tasks were all fun. I didn’t even mind the dragon escaping, really. I also didn’t mind the lack of magical creatures. The creepy moving hedges were problem enough.

Umm. The Graveyard scene? Spectacular. The whole thing. Dan really shined there– his screams of pain were believable, his moment of courage– standing up to face Voldemort– was wonderful. The shades of Cedric and Lily and James– *tear*. Voldemort was more human– and therefore to me, even more creepy– than I was expecting. Harry sobbing, clinging to Cedric’s body? Priceless. Much better than Dan’s last crying scene.

Newell seems to have found the perfect balance between humor and tension. Good for him. Here’s hoping he comes back for HBP.

I could say more, but I loved so many things, it’s hard to pick out what to talk about. Suffice it to say that here is a wonderful example of the way to adapt a long novel for a feature-length film. And proof that I can enjoy movies that leave lots out, change the plot in significant ways, etc. They just have to do it right.