I feel a little sad that this series is almost over.  But Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is by far the most adult of the Harry Potter films and I found that I relished it in a whole new way. As Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) proclaims, “Well, well, well, look what we have here. It’s Harry Potter. He’s all bright, and shiny, and new again, just in time for the Dark Lord.” Oh, yeah.

The penultimate Potter film finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) almost grown up and on the run. As is usual, the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his minions intend to kill Harry Potter, but the forces of good are many in number and willing to help the Chosen One. It is a dark time in the magical world, where dark forces appear to be in control of the government and of Hogwarts. These forces employ a nasty mixture of McCarthyism and Nazi techniques to discover any witch or wizard not of “pure” blood. When Harry, Hermione and Ron are forced to escape from a Weasley wedding, they find themselves alone to battle the evil forces. Are they up to it? Of course.

This film feels quite different than the other Harry Potter films, yet I like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 even more than some of its predecessors.  Director David Yates continues to keep things moving while allowing the focus to be on the characters.  It is clear that this film is the first of two parts, and that allows this film to find a pace less frantic than the previous films. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the only one of the Harry Potter films to contain no scenes at Hogwarts. As much as I love and miss those scenes, perhaps it is time for the kids to finally graduate. The films’ special effects are better and scarier than I remember from previous installments; in fact the giant snake made me actually jump out of my seat. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort is more evil and terrifying than ever and the scene of him presiding over his evil cabinet at the head of the table, snake at the ready, is chilling, and is my new favorite Voldermort scene.

 This film suggests that the final installment may be something of a curtain call for characters and actors who have appeared in the previous films.  We get short scenes with Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody (Brendan Gleeson), Molly Weasley (Julie Walters), Wormtail (Timothy Spall), Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), and even flashback scenes of dead Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), as well as other Potter favorites. Some may understandably want more of these beloved characters, but this film really belongs to Harry, Hermione and Ron, and Radcliffe, Watson and Grint do not disappoint.

My favorite scene in the film is Harry and Hermione dancing to Nick Cave’s “O Children.” Harry tries to cheer up Hermione after Ron leaves and their awkward but deeply affectionate dance is charming and moving. Radcliffe and Watson convey the emotional complexities of their relationship as they dance and laugh together. They show us the children they were and the adults they will soon be. Ron was always my least favorite character, but Rupert Grint has really grown in the role.  Ron and Grint seem more man than boy, and Grint shows us Ron’s ironic side when after he comments, “Don’t expect me to get excited over another damn thing we need to find.” Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have better chemistry than ever as they finish each other sentences and reflect on the madness in the world.  Harry says, “This is mental.” “Completely mental,” Hermione agrees. Ron sums it up, saying, “The world’s mental.”

The  cliff hanger ending is appropriate here, and has me eagerly anticipating the final film. But this time the changes in the characters and their relationships have me just as interested as the magical plot. I love seeing the way the characters and the actors have grown, and am as interested in the life choices of Harry, Hermione and Ron as I am in the mystery of the deathly hallows. As Harry says in the beginning of the film when someone suggests this is all about saving him, “It has always been bigger than that.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.  Directed by David Yates. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Bill Nighy (Rufus Scrimgeour), Alan Rickman (Professor Severus Snape), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Brendan Gleeson (Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody), Julie Walters(Molly Weasley), Timothy Spall (Wormtail), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)and Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore). Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010. 

 

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

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