As a DISH Network subscriber, I’ve been treated lately to repeated trailers for the pay per view presentation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part the Second and Final, At Long Freakin’ Last, Can You Believe It? No need for PPV for me, as I’ve seen the flick twice in theatres and will doubtless purchase it on disc at the opportune moment. The trailers do bring certain enjoyable scenes back to mind, however, chief among those being two moments centering on Lord Voldemort. It’s an axiom that clashes between good and evil require memorable villains, and the portrayal of Voldemort by Ralph Fiennes certainly qualifies. Indeed – and though I am certainly no film critic – I’d go so far as to say that two He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named moments are so drop-dead awesome that they fairly demand a Best Supporting Actor award for Fiennes:
1: A priceless reaction of barely suppressed rage when Neville Longbottom dares to ask to say a few words as Voldemort revels in apparent victory. Fiennes’ villain pauses for just a moment – one grimacing, teeth-gnashing moment. You can practically read the thoughts flashing across his countenance: How…how DARE this little cretin intrude on my moment of supreme triumph! I should kill him for this! I…I WANT to kill him…but it would be bad form, wouldn’t it? Delightful.
2: The response when it appears that Harry Potter has not answered the summons to his doom at Voldemort’s hand in the Forbidden Forest. Voldemort despises Potter for simply existing, of course, and has never seemed to truly acknowledge the link between the two of them (as Potter does), and yet takes it on faith that this foolish, noble boy will answer the call to sacrifice himself. Fiennes waits; he turns, then looks back to stare into the woods; he murmurs, as though speaking to himself rather than to the sycophants who surround him:
I thought he would come.
Voldemort sounds, in this moment, not just confused but genuinely disappointed in Harry. It’s an oddly human moment, and it’s brilliant.
Yes, yes, I know that there are those would prefer that Best Supporting Actor be awarded to Alan Rickman for his admirable portrayal of Severus Snape, and I am loath to oppose them. Still, I think I’ll hold out for Fiennes, who certainly deserves it. Let’s end with a quote from Fiennes himself, as he describes his take on Voldemort:
He’s all about acquiring power and controlling and manipulating a lot of people. It can be thrilling and quite freeing to play, because all the rules disappear. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, director Mike Newell encouraged a switchblade explosion of venom and rage. When somebody is contained and has the ability to explode, that makes people nervous.
When I was young, there was this character in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang called the Child Catcher. I remember being terrified by this figure. I think children should be really scared of Lord Voldemort.
Sometimes kids would come to the set, and I could see them looking at me anxiously. I once walked past the young child of a script supervisor, and he burst into tears. I felt very good about myself.
Well played, sir.
