So, I noticed something interesting in my most recent rewatch of the Goblet of Fire movie. It’s something that sets it apart from all of the other instalments in the series. The main romantic pairing of the film is Harry and Hermione. Now I know, there will be outcries of people saying that this delusional shipper is seeing things where they aren’t, that I’m putting subtext to scenes that it isn’t present in; but, I’m looking at this at an objective point of view. I’m not here to discuss whether or not they are a viable pairing—that has been talked about ad nauseum. This is just something that I’ve caught on to that I’ve never seen discussed before. Mind you, it’s a theory, but I figure that it’s a pretty sound one.
First things first, the film adaptation is an adaptation. There are things interpreted different ways by different people, and the Goblet of Fire movie is no different. How did this affect this particular film? Well, you have to look at who wrote it. Many people are familiar with the screenwriter of the Potter films, Steve Kloves. He has written all of them except for Order of the Phoenix, for he wanted to take a break from the franchise. It is well known that Mr. Kloves has a particular interpretation of the books that many others don’t agree with. That is the Harry Hermione relationship. I for one think that it helped the films for the better, but I digress. Take a look at this quote by JK Rowling about him.
“Just because someone had a view on Harry/Hermione didn't mean they weren't genuine, or that they were necessarily misguided. In fact, I will say this, Steve Kloves who has been the script writer [on the Potter films], who is enormously insightful on the series and a very good friend, after he read book seven he said to me, 'You, know, I thought something was going to happen between Harry and Hermione, and I didn't know whether I wanted it or not.' …"[Kloves] felt a certain pull between them at that point. And I think he's right. There are moments when [Harry and Hermione] touch, which are charged moments. One when she touches his hair as he sits on the hilltop reading about Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and [two] the moment when they walk out of the graveyard with their arms around each other. Now the fact is that Hermione shares moments with Harry that Ron will never be able to participate in. He walked out. She shared something very intense with Harry. So I think it could have gone that way."
This quote makes it clear; Kloves thought that Harry and Hermione were headed towards a romantic relationship. Keep in mind, Goblet of Fire was written and shot before the release of ‘Half Blood Prince’, the book that many consider to have definitively set the relationships of the series in stone. Now with this information, let’s see how this affected the script. There is a certain arc that is present in the script between Harry and Hermione that sets a purpose: to create the foundation for a relationship. This isn’t coming from the view of a Harry/Hermione shipper who sees something ship worthy every single time they speak to each other. Even I will admit, some of the can be crazy. I am coming from the point of view, however, of a writer and lover of film. With that perspective, it’s simply shocking to see how romantically inclined the story for the two of them is in this one.
The first thing that I noticed is just how much this movie focuses on the two of them as a pair. Now, I hear the rebuttals brewing: ‘Of course it focuses on them; they’re the male and female stars of the movie’ ‘Kloves loves Hermione too much and gives all of Ron’s best lines to her’. I’ve heard these sentiments numerous times of this subreddit—I disagree with the latter one in regard to the overall big picture, but that in neither here nor there. The point is that this film in particular focuses on them as a duo, as a unit, as a romantic male and female lead. It’s different than all of the following films and ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ where Hermione’s romantic story focuses more on Ron. The focus on the scenes with the trio is particularly on Harry and Hermione. Let’s start with Harry’s first scene in the movie: he has just woken up after his dream of Frank Bryce being killed by Voldemort, and the first thing he sees…Hermione has arrived at the Burrow, being the first person that he sees. This scene isn’t that noteworthy, but I feel that it is necessary to look at all of their scenes together in order to view the chronological progression.
Next is the Quidditch World Cup. Once the Death Eaters attack, notice their physical closeness in this picture. But of course, that’s what Hermione is like; she worries about Harry, she always been physically affectionate with him. Yet, notice how once the frenzy starts and Hermione is pulled away from him by the stampede, she is desperately crying ‘Harry! Harry!’. If this was in the books, it would probably not matter because the role of Harry is as an observer. If he heard Hermione yelling, we as readers wouldn’t put much thought into it because he merely is recounting what is occurring. No new information would be provided as we already know that Hermione cares deeply for Harry and is terrified for him. Film isn’t literature though. Each scene has a purpose. Each frame has to matter in one way or another. Having Hermione yelling for him as they are pulled away from each other puts emphasis on them as a pair. It could be argued that her yelling was added to create tension, to create a sense of dizzying panic as Harry tries to comprehend everything that is going on, but that begs the question; why have Hermione alone do it? Why not have her and Ron yelling for him as he is knocked to the ground? Well, this is a trend that continues on for much of the movie.
The next scene of significance is the train ride to Hogwarts. This is our first introduction to someone who plays an enormous part of the romantic plotline of the movie, Cho Chang. We see Harry stupidly stare at her as she buys candy from the cart. Cho has a role that is not clearly evident in a first viewing of the movie, but I’ll get to that later. Once Harry is back inside, he is brought back to reality by Hermione’s voice. This is essentially the start of the main arc between Harry and Hermione in the movie. All throughout, we see her worry for him; we see how nervous and scared she is for him, and Harry does what Harry does and pushes away. He time and time again tries to back away from her attempts to comfort and protect him. This subtle storyline is present numerous times and comes to a rightful conclusion at the end, but I’ll discuss that later.
After this point, the main plot kicks into action. The other schools arrive, we meet ‘Moody’, and the Triwizard Tournament is introduced. We are also properly introduced to Viktor Krum, Hermione’s other romantic interest in the movie. We see Hermione’s obvious interest in him; the way they look at each other when he puts his name in the goblet is enough proof of that. I’ll return to this point in a moment though; firstly, I want to put attention on Harry’s isolation. This is actually something that I feel was downplayed in the movie in comparison to the book. In the book, Hermione is all that Harry has once Ron abandons him. She is his sole companion and one of the few who believes that he didn’t put his name in. In the movie, this wasn’t as obvious until later. The first time we see her after Harry is chosen is when Harry and Neville are at the Black Lake. She serves the role as the mediator between Ron and Harry when they have their lover’s spat. It is a somewhat comedic scene with their back and forth and misunderstandings about what Ron is trying to say. There is not much to say about the scene other than it continues to show the tension between the boys and Hermione’s loyalty to Harry.
The scene though, that truly is what I feel, one of the first of the ‘romantic’ scenes that they share in the movie, the tent scene before the first task. This, and the scene after the second task are two scenes that I feel really stand out in context. Not to sound sexist, but a common trope present in numerous books and movies is the hero being wished good luck or being congratulated by his romantic interest before or after they do a task. Hermione essentially serves that role here. In the tent, we see how terrified and scared she is for Harry, and she can’t resist and ends up giving him a bear hug. Like I said before, I’m aware that she is extremely physically affectionate with him and hugs him quite often throughout the series, but in this case, it is different. This is essentially the equivalent of the kiss good luck, but for a fourteen and a fifteen year old. Once again though, Harry is quite stiff and doesn’t quite reciprocate. Then, the actual task. At various points, the camera focuses on Hermione and Hermione alone. There are occasional shots of the teachers, the twins, and Ron, but the main focus in the stands is Hermione cheering Harry on. The second he returns from his budget blowing CGI dragon extravaganza, the first reaction and sole focus of the camera is her screaming ‘Yes! Yes!’.
Not too long after is the announcement of the Yule Ball: the part where the plot decided to yell “Fuck You!” and take a twenty minute snack break. I kid, but this this where the most in your face of the various romantic plotlines in the movie take their due. This is the part where many point and yell at the obvious elephant in the room which I haven’t commented on yet: the Ron and Hermione relationship. Yes, the legendary Yule Ball argument where many felt as if it was finally set in stone that they would finally end up together after all was said and done. Many would say that the subtle pairing in the movie is them, not Harry and Hermione. I completely disagree. There is no doubt that there is an obvious romantic plotline between the two in the follow