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Movie review: ‘Secrets of Dumbledore’
By Chris Hewitt
Star Tribune
T
hird time’s a charm for the
“Fantastic Beasts” series,
which took three tries to —
fi nally — produce something
that feels like a complete movie.
“The Secrets of Dumbledore”
takes a few scenes to get go-
ing. After the introduction of a
dizzying array of characters and
story lines, things don’t really
click until Jessica Williams’ Lally
Hicks shows up to summarize
what happened in “Fantastic
Beasts: The Crimes of Grindel-
wald.” One thing she doesn’t
mention: The series took
advantage of the opportunity to
dump Johnny Depp and trade
up with Mads Mikkelsen as vil-
lainous Gellert Grindelwald.
With his etched cheekbones
and menacingly measured
delivery, Mikkelsen plays a lot
of people who probably have
kill rooms in their basements.
That’s true here, too, where the
principal confl ict is between
Grindelwald and Jude Law’s Al-
Warner Bros. Pictures
From left, Jessica Williams, Callum Turner, Fiona Glascott, Dan Fogler, Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne in “Fantastic
Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”
bus Dumbledore, who’s not yet
the head honcho at Hogwarts
(although the school does get
enough screen time to make
Potterheads gleeful).
Once lovers, they’ve parted
over the direction the wizard-
ing world should take and
Grindelwald is running a rigged
campaign, complete with Nazi-
like imagery, to assure he’ll be
chosen to lead it. Dumbledore,
with the help of Eddie Red-
mayne’s timid Newt Scamander
and too many other muggles
and wizards for us to keep track
of, is determined to stop him.
Having elegantly walked a
line between good and evil for
three seasons as “Hannibal”
Lecter on TV, Mikkelsen is an
old hand at quietly following
through on horrible threats. He
doesn’t always play bad guys
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— the tension in the mesmeriz-
ing “The Hunt” was that he was
pure-hearted but Mikkelsen’s
casting planted doubts — but
the Danish actor is such a wily
performer that he could prob-
ably play Mr. Rogers straight
and still make him seem like
serial killer material.
That elusive quality is a huge
asset in “Secrets,” which boasts
the beasts promised by its title,
including a magical deer/lizard
creature, some dancing scorpi-
ons and glimpses of what may
be a dodo. Other than Grindel-
wald, though, its characters are
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not so fantastic. Virtually every-
one is either clearly good or evil
and there’s never any question
who should — or will — win, un-
less you somehow missed the
“Potter” series. There’s also an
issue I have with many entries in
the fantasy genre: If everything
is possible, if a spell can turn
evil good or bring the dead back
to life, does anything really have
a point?
Ultimately, “Secrets” answers
that question in the affi rmative.
He may be a wizard but “Se-
crets” explores the humanity
of Dumbledore more than any
previous “Beasts” or “Potter”
movie, making sure we see
that a gay man in the 1930s
was doomed to be an outsider.
“Secrets” leaves him the pos-
sibility of further adventures, if
more movies get made, but it
also helps us understand the
trauma that will make him tick
at Hogwarts.
The ending of “Secrets” is a
bittersweet balance between
its title character’s pain and the
promise of a couple of sweet
relationships that involve the
supporting wizards and mor-
tals. At least for its straight
characters, “Secrets” insists,
love is stronger than magic.
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