“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1”
Directed by David Yates
Heyday Films
It’s finally happened. After nine years and six movies, the penultimate Potter movie delivers a grown-up cast, a dark wizarding world and the most captivating storytelling thus far. The beginning of the end has come and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ has made me believe in magic once again.
The film opens sans the customary trumpeting of the Harry Potter theme, but rather with silence and a tarnished Warner Brothers logo. Harry stands by while his aunt and uncle load everything they own and abandon their home at Number 4 Privet Drive. Hermione wipes all knowledge of her existence from her parents’ minds and her image disappears from the frames throughout her muggle, or non-magic, home. Four deaths in the first half hour, and at least one shrill scream on my part, drive home the point that Harry Potter isn’t all charms and transfiguration anymore.
“Deathly Hallows” begins the journey toward the final battle of the war in the wizarding world and Harry Potter’s quest to destroy Lord Voldemort. Professor Dumbledore has left behind three cryptic items in his will but no other direction for Harry in his mission to destroy the remaining horcruxes ““ objects that possess pieces of Voldemort’s soul, thereby keeping him immortal. When the Ministry of Magic is toppled by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Harry, Ron and Hermione are forced to continue their hunt while on the run.
Watching this movie feels like finally finishing a puzzle because you realized you had been holding the final piece the wrong way. It’s hard to say what exactly is different in this film compared to the past Potter movies, but I felt enthralled by the darkened tone, I lost all sense of time despite the fact that it was 2 a.m. and I barely even cringed because of the acting of the principle three actors. I’ve always enjoyed the Harry Potter movies and the fanfare surrounding them, but I have never been one to call them good movies ““ until now.
The strength of the latest film can best be seen in the transplantation of the story away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Up until now, Harry Potter’s story has largely been insulated within the castle’s walls where a simple conversation is half about what’s being said and half about watching the roaming portraits and changing staircases surrounding them. “Deathly Hallows” still boasts plenty of magic, but Harry, Ron and Hermione spend more of their time in the woods far from the familiar magical world. And yet, it works. The magical world is fleshed out enough that, even when we don’t see it, it’s still the backdrop of the film. For once Harry, Ron and Hermione are at the forefront and we can truly appreciate how much the actors that play them have grown.
Emma Watson carries a number of scenes, a feat I’d bet impossible just a film ago, and Rupert Grint deftly plays love-struck Ron Weasley one second and angry, petulant teenager the next. Daniel Radcliffe seems to have embraced his comedic ability including one scene where a few swigs of Polyjuice Potion transform six of his friends into his spitting image. Daniel Radcliffe in a skirt is an image I can recall every midterms week when I’m in need of a good laugh.
But more importantly, their characters are not the 10-year-olds that came to Hogwarts bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, an important point to establish before the final film. Hermione is no longer welcome in the magic world based on the small fact that she was born to non-magic parents. Ron is forced to face his insecurities and other inner demons with Godric Gryffindor’s sword in hand. Harry returns to the spot his parents died and grapples with the idea that he might not have known Dumbledore as well as he thought.
Director David Yates, the fourth in a line of Harry Potter directors, skillfully balances these moments of character growth with the major plot points necessary to prepare audiences for the final film. The story of the Deathly Hallows and what is going on with the rest of the wizarding world are alluded to, but are far from center stage. If anything, they served as reminders of all that still has to happen before Harry’s story comes to an end.
While I appreciate that the journey still has a ways to go, I’ll admit that I was one of the more indignant patrons when the screen went black at Westwood’s Regency Village Theater early Friday morning. Left reeling by what I would consider the saddest character death in the entire series, I left the theater and headed straight to my calendar. July 15, why are you so far away?
Have you seen “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1?” Did you think it was one of the best in the series or did the magic fall short? Let us know in the comments below.
photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures