Harry Potter Movie Portrayals: Rating the Actors/Performances
Trying to think of all the professors/my opinions on them makes me realize how minor/forgettable most of them were in the movies. That's no criticism on the actors… it's just that they were largely reduced to background characters, to the point where it's hard to form an opinion.
I think that Sprout, Flitwick, and Hooch were all well cast. I'll give them an E, though I wish we could've seen more from them. David Bradley as Argus Filch gets an O from me for nailing the character, as does Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney. She's another one that feels very true to the books… I wish we could've seen more of her weirdness/constant predictions of Harry's death.
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Overall, I think the ratings given fit them. There is no way I'd ever see Filch and Trelawney as anyone other than how they were portrayed, but moreso for Filch. Trelawney could be pretty spiteful at times, and even violent when under enough duress (specifically with Umbridge around).
Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge gets an O from me, purely based on how much I wanted to punch her in the face. Also, I had already seen her in Twelfth Night, where I thought she was also brilliant. The sing-song voice, sickly sweet personality and pink overdose did enormous justice to the book character, and I think it's one of those occasions where the movie character image is stronger in my mind.
Quote from Heatherlly on January 17, 2023, 3:43 pmI agree with you about the twins, though I'll go ahead and give them an E. They might not completely match the physical description, but I feel like they make up for that with their energy/characterization.
On the flipside, I don't like Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley at all. I dislike her so much, in fact, that she gets my first failing grade (P). Granted, I might be biased since I had trouble connecting with her character even in the books. But the movie version/her performance feels even more bland and uninteresting. She does nothing for me individually, and the chemistry between her and Harry is nonexistent.
OK, so I am not the only one who wasn't pleased by movie Ginny. Most of my complaints come from the sixth movie. Even if the acting coach is responsible, all the other film crew had access to the books. I assume the actress did herself. If everyone was happy enough with her delivery to keep such scenes, then might that suggest that Ginny's role wasn't really important to their vision? Several years ago, I think I read an article saying that the movies spent more time highlighting the relationship between Harry and Hermione compared to any other dynamic. Perhaps the creative decision was to mute Ginny's role so as to focus more on people such as Harry and Hermione. Whatever the case may be, I didn't understand the creative decisions behind the kiss between Harry and Ginny. Why in that location? Why did she have to do it? I think the scene was more enjoyable in the book.
Okay, so we've done Hogwarts students (Harry's era) and Professors. Next up? Marauders era!
I'm going to start with Lily, because this is one of my biggest gripes with the movie casting. I loved the little girl who played Lily (aside from the eyes mismatch), but adult Lily? To me, this was absolutely the worst casting in the entire series.
I've commented before on "aging up" some of the characters. I don't love it, even with characters like Snape, but I can at least understand it in those cases. It creates a bigger distinction between the children (i.e. teenagers) and the adults, which can be easier for younger viewers to understand as far as visuals go.
But Lily… she was only 21 years old when she died, which is part of what makes her story so tragic. Casting someone who looked like a 40 year old soccer mom/roughly the same age as adult Remus or Sirius makes zero sense.
I wish they had cast someone younger and frankly, more beautiful. That might sound shallow (especially without context), but those traits are central to her character.
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I have to agree with you on that. If Geraldine Somerville had been younger at the time she played Lily, I think she might have been better; I’ve seen her in stuff when she was younger (Poirot, “The Yellow Iris”), and she’s much closer to 21 there. A young Geraldine gets an A, but what we got is a D.
I forgot about the rating, but yeah, I'd give her a D as well. Same for Adrian Rawlins as James Potter, who was late 40s/early 50s during filming. D:
On the flipside, Gary Oldman as Sirius Black gets an O from me. I know he's also older than Sirius would've been at that time, but his appearance seems appropriate for someone who did 12 years in Azkaban. Also, I think his portrayal of Sirius is spot on, particularly in the Shrieking Shack. It's just a shame we didn't get to see his version of other key moments (e.g. confrontation with Snape at Grimmauld).
David Thewlis is also good as Remus Lupin. He was apparently in his 40s during the filming, but again, that makes sense considering the book description/werewolf status. I'd give him an E, though it's a tossup between that and an O.
Can’t argue with those ratings. Thewlis is perfect for the role, and Gary Oldman is Gary fucking Oldman, the man’s an O by default.
