The Beginning of the End ~ Movie Review of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1’

The world has watched Daniel Radcliffe grow up as Harry Potter.  In the first movie he was just a youngster that everyone wanted to take into their homes in order to show him some love (as well as life without having to sleep under a stair banister).  Since the first film, ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (known as ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ to the rest of the world) Radcliffe has become a multi-millionaire and probably one of the most recognizable faces on the planet.  He along with Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) will continue to make movies.  Thus far all three look like they will be able to cross over from the singular movie roles of their childhoods to the more mature roles that await them as young adults – each have made strides in that direction.  I wrote all of this because Radcliffe recently made a point of mentioning on the press junket for ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1’ that J. K. Rowling has promised him that she won’t be writing any more Potter books for him to bother reprising the role that made him a household name.  One, I’m sure the good people of Scholastic Inc., Rowling’s Potter American publishing house, and Warner Brothers, the movie studio responsible for the whole franchise, are weeping tears of blood over Radcliffe’s perceived hubris and hoping that Rowling might go back on her word.  If one is more replaceable in the magic universe it would be Rowling over Radcliffe – somehow, somewhere, I imagine that an actor could be found who could take up the heavy mantle that is the film role of Harry Potter.  Mind you, I’m not hating on Radcliffe overall, just the fact that he seems weary of the role of Harry Potter, which by the end of its run, will be the most profitable movie franchise ever; toppling the mighty ‘Star Wars’.

 

                So the question becomes did Radcliffe as Potter go out with a bang?

 

                Yes…well, at least the first half.

 

                I will be the first to admit that the ennui Radcliffe might have been feeling for Potter was also affecting me.  Back when the first movie came out in 2001 there were no other comparable modern film franchises based on recently published books.  Now the book to film universe that Rowling’s birthed includes the ‘Twilight’ series along with promises of films based on other literary standouts of the fantasy genre.  What moved me into wanting to see ‘Deathly Hallows’ on it’s opening weekend was that it was breaking box office records…and if there is cinematic smoke then surely there is going to be a must see story played out on the silver screen. 

 

                I think of all the movies under the ‘Harry Potter’ banner, ‘Deathly Hallows’ is the first one that I would classify as an action film before saying it was a fantasy film.  In the others it seemed as if the action was used to enhance the magic of the characters, whereas with this effort, I felt the magic was secondary to the action.  There were even a few scenes that actually made me suck in my breath.  ‘Deathly Hallows’ isn’t a family film, unless your children are older and don’t tend to have nightmares.  As the series matured from children’s books to an older audience so have the movies.  There was one semi-explicit scene where people in the theater actually sucked in their breath as in ‘I can’t believe they showed that.’ 

 

                Since this is the ending of the franchise, it seemed as if every previous character in the movies makes some sort of comeback and I imagine that the ones that weren’t in ‘Part 1’ we will see in ‘Part 2’.  I was disappointed in the lack of explanation as to why Potter’s aunt, uncle, and cousin left their home besides the uncle’s brief comment that it wasn’t safe anymore.  In the book, and mind you that I read it but have forgotten chunks of it, there was a touching moment when Dudley waves back at Harry as they are leaving and readers were given the impression that under different circumstances (as in if Dudley’s parents weren’t such pills) that the two of them may have become friends.  Overall, I think the film could have clarified why it was so important to move Harry from one point to the next.  I felt things were eluded to, but for the part of the audience that haven’t read the books, and for some of us who have read the books but can’t recall the details of them, it felt as if we had to create our own scenario.  This is a minor complaint because I know that time was an issue, as is the movie is two and a half hours, yet I never found myself looking at my watch). 

 

                I think David Yates who directed the movie (he also directed ‘Order of the Phoenix’ and ‘Half Blood Prince’) did an outstanding job in adding some lightness to very dark material.  From what I remember of the book, the part that focuses on Hermione, Ron, and Harry off on their own trying to find the hidden horcruxes was very angst ridden.  The three of them were constantly rubbing each other wrong, which I didn’t find to be that enjoyable reading wise, but in the movie there was a pace given to the story structure that made those scenes more bearable.  Of course, much of the credit also goes to Steve Kloves, the American screenwriter who is responsible for all of the ‘Harry Potter’ scripts – he more than anyone else has put the rest of his career on hold to focus on everything Hogwarts and magic.

 

                I recommend seeing ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1’ in the theater, especially in a crowded theater where you can see a wide array of Potter fans from young to old.  Of course the film will play just as well on DVD, and I imagine that at the conclusion of the series with ‘Part 2’, which is set to debut in July of 2011, that all of the films will be packaged nicely as a collectors’ box set. 

 

                In recent days I have been thinking about Rowling’s and appreciating her work on the level that she not only created a whole universe, many writers actually do that, but she went a several steps further and gave her readers the details of said universe, which is much more difficult to do.  She was able to take the seed that she planted with the first ‘Harry Potter’ book and grow it in different directions.  I imagine that if she does decide to revisit the world of magic that she will do so with a new character and a new quest.         

 

Westerfield © 2010