![]() The fact that the final film, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, was released over a decade ago may make Potterheads shout “Accio” to summon a time-travelling portkey. Given out background knowledge of Poe's life and authorship, the viewer is forced to ponder a dark question could the author who wrote such twisted revenge fantasies be capable of the same gruesome crimes that he's depicted? Melling's closely guarded, emotionally closed off performance hints at the darker aspects of his personality, but doesn't overplay his hand until the final moments when the real culprit is revealed.The eight films based on the seven books by JK Rowling have shaped the childhood of millions across the globe in a way that the actual muggle world seems like a harsh reality without an escape in a flying car. The film isn't a depiction of Poe's entire life, but rather a murder mystery where the young writer works alongside the enigmatic investigator Augustus Landor ( Christian Bale) during his studies as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. There's a complexity within his work that most straight biopics lack. Similarly, his performance as Edgar Allen Poe in The Pale Blue Eye is so baffling, strange, and austere that it makes the final twist even more effective. Malcolm's crowning during the film's haunting closing sequence has become a new iconic image that ranks alongside the most stunning shots in the Coens' filmography. However, Melling's performance stands out in its eeriness, which fits perfectly within the black and white photography. Acting alongside legends like Denzel Washington and Brendan Gleeson couldn't have been easy for Melling, and doing some reciting some of the most iconic dialogue in history made it even tougher. There have been countless adaptations of the Macbeth story, but Melling differentiated his performance as Malcolm in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth by playing the heir to the throne as somewhat removed from reality due to his sheltered upbringing. These experiences have prepared Melling for the difficult task of playing characters that are already iconic and still finding his own unique way to portray them. Netflix seems intent on moving forward with a sequel, and whoever ends up being cast as the primary antagonist will have to stand out in order to improve on what Melling accomplished in the first film. Similarly, his gloriously over-the-top performance as the corporate villain Steven Merrick in the comic book film The Old Guard is the most enjoyable part of a film where the rest of the cast is taking it all way too seriously. However, Melling can also go wildly over-the-top while opinions are varied on Antonio Campos’ controversial psychological thriller The Devil All the Time, it’s impossible to doubt Melling’s commitment to the role of an insane preacher when he douses himself with flesh-eating spiders and spirals out of reality. Capturing a personal, yet unromantic relationship between these characters was difficult to capture, but the excellent chemistry between Melling and Taylor-Joy is endearing in how untoxic it is. While Harry is initially a little overconfident, he’s not brash or rude, and thus it becomes quite powerful when he returns to become her ally towards the end of the series. Initially, his character Harry Beltik is an experienced chess player who doesn’t see Beth ( Anya Taylor-Joy) as a serious threat until she beats him. His performance in the hit Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit took many viewers by surprise. There’s a patience to the way that he constructs his character arcs that is most certainly derived from the years he spent as Dudley. Melling has shown an impressive ability to go from being incredibly charismatic to wildly unhinged. Daniel Radcliffe has certainly been doing some interesting work in wild genre movies, but most reviews still tend to cite the abnormality of seeing “Harry Potter doing something else.” Similarly, Emma Watson has given strong performances in films like Little Women and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but they’ve generally been perceived in comparison to the role of Hermione Granger that dominated her life for a decade. However, the younger cast that portrayed the students of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry were essentially unknowns at the time they were initially cast, and have had to work against being typecast as the same characters. Many senior members of the Harry Potter cast such as Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, and the late, great Alan Rickman already had extensive careers before their work on Harry Potter, and thus they faced less of a challenge in playing different roles outside of the franchise. Melling’s success is somewhat of an anomaly compared to his co-stars.
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