Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

As responsible disciples of pop-culture, Brian and I went out on opening weekend to check out the penultimate Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hallows. I’ve always been a huge fan of the series, ever since the flying broom dream brought on by readin the first book some 10 years or so ago. Brian’s a little more rooted in the muggle world, so I had to brief him a little on what he needed to know to be up speed, much of which revolved around horcruxes and such. Beyond that, having seen the other 6 films, Brian had the tools to keep up with what was going on. More on that later.

Part 1 of The Deathly Hallows picks up shortly after the events of The Half-Blood Prince, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) having been murdered by Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), and the return of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) to the muggle and wizarding worlds. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) are all living underground, with many of Dumbledore’s loyal followers from the Order of the Phoenix doing their best to keep Harry safe. It’s a losing battle though, Voldemort’s minions are everywhere, and the good guys are getting bumped off in a cruelly methodical fashion. These are dark times – probably not unlike how things were the last time Voldemort tried to kill young Harry Potter. This time however, the Dark Lord is certain he will not fail. He’s marshalling his forces and making sure he’s got all the accessories he needs to do the job right. One of those tools, it would seem, could be on of these titular Deathly Hallows (they’re things, not a place). Meanwhile, Harry and his friends are carrying on with Dumbledore’s mission to seek and destroy Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes, the containers of the Dark Lord’s soul, so that they might finally rid the world of him once and for all. Their search takes them all over the English countryside and even into the belly of the beast, the now Death Eater controlled Ministry of Magic. All this, and it’s only half of the entire book. JK Rowling was eating her Wheaties when she was writing this, for sure.

While this sprawling story might have seemed a little drawn out at times, it certainly didn’t feel like a 2 1/2 hour movie. I could have easily sat through another 45 minutes. Director David Yates seems clearly comfortable with the material by now, and is able to blow explaining every last plot point to the audience, only stooping to expository dialogue if it was information that couldn’t be found in any of the earlier films. This creates a kind of insider atmosphere, where the Hogwarts aficionados in the audience can feel can feel pretty clever, even if you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t had any contact with the Potter universe amongst the crowd. Creating an insider atmosphere around something so universally popular is no small task, so my hat is off to Yates for at least that. But seriously, what the heck are you doing going to the 7th film without seeing any of the previous ones? That being said, I only had to turn and whisper something to Brian like 3 or 4 times just to make sure he was getting everything out of his experience.

There has been a lot of talk over the last few movies that the tone has been getting steadily darker – but after giving The Philosopher’s Stone a re-watch on Saturday, I’m not sure that’s actually the case. If you’ll recall, the movie ends with an 11 year old Harry Potter turning Professor Quirrell into a pile of dust with his bare hands. People thought that was out of character for the film’s tone, but in retrospect, that was the only moment that was tone appropriate to the whole story. Seriously, the series’ villain is a guy who would actually try to murder an infant. Instead, I believe that the series hasn’t gotten darker, it’s merely matured. Characters and relationships have certainly gotten more complex, which is one of the best up-sides of doing such a long term series. If the was one love scene in the film – and there is – it is a platonic one between Harry and Hermione. It’s rare having such a desexualized scene in such a mainstream blockbuster film, but perhaps because these characters have been so well established over the years, or perhaps because they’re still barely adults, that the scene is effective.

 

[SPOILER ALERT!] Another risky move that appeared to pay off, at least as far as the audience I watched it with, was Dobby’s death scene. Here we have a touching death scene of a character who was once mocked as a second-rate Jar Jar Binks, who was unfortunately a contemporary of a much better executed CG character, Gollum. And we have Harry with this little CG muppet in his arms as it tearfully expires. It is perhaps the scene that is supposed to carry the most gravitas of the film, and it could have totally backfired if the audience didn’t buy into the character. Fortunately, it worked. [END OF SPOILER]

I also noticed in this film how much more central a role Hermione Granger takes. There’s no doubt that she’s done most of the heavy lifting when it comes to any of the magic or research or cleverness in this series, but she gets the opening scene of the film, as she wipes herself from her parents memories in order to protect them. It’s the first time we’ve had a window into her life outside of Hogwarts, and I think it signals a change in how central they want to make the heroine of this story this time around. It’s a smart move if you ask me. Watching these films through the eyes of a child might have worked for the first few years, but now that Harry’s a man, sharing the screen with a hero the other half of the audience are identifying with ensures an enriching viewing experience for everyone. And isn’t that what we’re after when we wrap up a movie series almost 10 years in the making.

What we have in The Deathly Hallows is a film that asks far more questions and answers even fewer than you’d expect from the final movie in a saga like this – but that’s obviously what the final film is for. But what it withholds in information, it delivers in entertainment with great action set  pieces, characters fleshed out over course of 7 films, and a story that draws upon it’s own rich history to tie everything together… Waiting another year for part 2 is an unpleasant prospect.