Five years after Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the eighth and final Harry Potter film, hit the big screen,
we return to JK Rowling’s magical world of witchcraft and wizardry with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Although set in the same universe as the Potter
franchise, Fantastic Beasts is
set in 1920s New York, some 70 years before Harry defeated Voldemort at the
battle of Hogwarts. Hogwarts-expellee, New Scamander, arrives at the beginning
of the film in Manhattan with a suitcase full of magical beasts who do not want
to stay cooped up for long. Unfortunately, tensions between the magical and
non-magical world are rising high with the looming threat of Grindelwald and
anything that poses a risk of exposing the magical community is unwelcome in
New York. The first of potentially five movies, this looks to be the beginning
of a fantastical new franchise.
Directed by David Yates (who brought us the four last -and
best- Harry Potter movies) and
written by JK Rowling herself, Fantastic
Beasts has very cleverly and successfully created a world and a story that
feel both familiar and completely new at the same time. Whilst we are presented
with a new protagonist, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a new set of
characters, a new city and a new magical authority, this film isn’t completely
devoid of links to Harry’s story. Newt is the author of Hogwarts textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (hence
the film’s name) and we also hear such familiar names as Albus Dumbledore,
Hogwarts and Gellert Grindelwald being bandied about. Yates’ familiar handprint
is on this film in the look of the beasts, the movement of the wands and the
feel of the magic. Yet the new setting and different, grown-up protagonists,
together with the completely fresh and new story prevent us as an audience
feeling like we’ve seen it all before.
Yates has done an amazing job of turning Watford, London
into 1920’s New York. The setting of this film feels not only real but, what’s
more, it feels alive. Yates achieves this most notably in two ways. Firstly, in
the incredible attention to detail presented in Fantastic Beasts. Everything you are looking at is deliberate and almost
every scene has something magical and wonderful tucked away in the background
for those who are looking carefully: from the mouse memos to the sky-ceiling in
the MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) building.
Secondly, Yates brings the world to life with the almost
constant movement of the camera. As No-Maj (or Muggle, as we call them in the
UK) Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) explores the TARDIS-like world full of
fantastic beasts inside New Scamander’s briefcase, we explore with him, the
camera roaming around like an inquisitive visitor.
Of course, no franchise would be complete without a great
lead. Eddie Redmayne perfectly encapsulates what Newt should be:
socially-awkward, shy, kind and full of wonder and empathy. Redmayne has
demonstrated in recent years what an amazing actor he is (nominated two years
in a row for the best actor Oscar and winning the award for The Theory of Everything). In this film,
as he did when portraying Stephen Hawking, he demonstrates what an amazingly
physical actor he is, altering his entire physicality for the role. Most noticeable
perhaps is the way he moves his face when speaking with members of his own
race, never looking them directly in the eye and demonstrating a discomfort that
disappears when he interacts with his beasts. Perhaps more subtle however is
the very deliberate way he walks, the manner in which he moves his legs and
feet with each step. If you pay attention, you will see that he widens his toes
when stepping to minimise noise, as one would when approaching a wild animal.
This movie isn’t carried by Redmayne alone however. Each member
of the central supporting cast is very watchable and has a strong screen
presence. Accompanying Newt as he rescues his beasts are Dan Fogler as Kowalski
and Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol as witch sisters, Tina and Queenie. Each
of these actors lights up the screen with their warming presence – as one would
want in what is essentially a children’s film- and Fogler and Waterston in
particular have the amazing ability to portray complex thoughts and feelings
through simple facial movements.
Setting a darker tone in Fantastic
Beasts are the formidable villains: Samantha Morton as second Salemer and
wannabe witch-hunter, Mary Lou, and dodgy MACUSA official, Mr Graves, played by
the charismatic Colin Farrell. Both of these well-established British actors will
send chills down your spine, commanding your attention each time they are on
screen.
But what is the best thing about this film? Well, unless you
have some cruel friends who’ve spoilt it for you or you’ve spent too much time
searching “Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them” on the internet, you will have no idea where this film is going
or how it will end. That is something the original Potter films could never never do (for those of us sane persons who
had read the books).
I greatly enjoyed Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them and cannot wait to see where J.K. Rowling
takes us with this new franchise. Now who wants to buy me a niffler?
