It’s easy to be disappointed by a Harry Potter movie, especially if you’re a dedicated fan like the ones that lined up for the midnight premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.”
There were fans who dressed up as Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood and fans who camped out since midnight the night before and would have likely rioted if the movie was less than amazing. However, this film may be the first Harry Potter movie to translate beautifully to the big screen. It’s a fitting beginning to the conclusion of a series that began 13 years ago.
“[The end of the series] feels bittersweet because Harry Potter was always a part of my childhood,” said Maeve McDermott, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs. “It was sad getting to the end of the last book and knowing there wouldn’t be another one.”
Part one of the last film carries through that feeling of hesitant anticipation. Bleak, dark and visually luscious, “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” depicts none of the iconic hallmarks of the previous Potter films that are associated with the childhood nostalgia of Harry Potter. The three main characters, Harry, Ron and Hermione, never return to the safe haven of Hogwarts, and are instead thrust into the real world.
The film seems completely dissociated from the rest of the Potter films. At one point it’s a thriller, at another it’s a chase movie and even has a dash of horror (people were literally screaming during the Bathilda Bagshot scene). There was an extreme sense of urgency throughout the film, which makes the two and a half hours fly by.
The cinematography was a wonder to watch, contrasting wide-open outdoor shots, with crowded, modern cityscapes, and the old-fashioned magical world buildings. The grim atmosphere pervaded throughout the film, injecting a sense of raw vulnerability to the characters and a new depth to Harry Potter altogether. A character could die at any time or betray Harry with the flip of a coin.
One of the best and most pleasantly surprising things in the movie was how the filmmakers depicted the telling of the story of the Deathly Hallows. The sequence was animated, with Tim Burton-esque characters that produced a haunting and enchanting quality.
The acting in the film has also improved a great deal. Daniel Radcliffe no longer looks vapid all the time, Emma Watson raises her eyebrows less and Rupert Grint gets much more screen time to depict Ron’s anxiety and growing tension. They seemed greatly invested in their characters. In the previous Potter movies, the numerous characters and elaborate Hogwarts settings seemed to constrict their acting, where the visual spectacle was more important than the characters. However “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” was just about Harry, Ron and Hermione.
The only major flaw of the film was how the relationship between Harry and Hermione was explored. The unique portrayal of their mutual platonic friendship was the best part of their relationship. However, the addition of the scene where Harry tries to comfort Hermione after Ron leaves hints at a bit more. It makes sense — the producers of the film are self-confessed Harry-Hermione shippers, but it still takes away from the dynamic between the three friends.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is by far the best Harry Potter film to date. It has few flaws that are easily overcome by its strengths. The film matches the greatness of the novel, and even perhaps improves upon it. It is a genuinely good film, and should not be pushed aside as just another CGI-laden, spectacle-driven Harry Potter movie.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
