Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The beginning without the end

While the previous Harry Potter movies have all been very well-received overall, there has always been that contingent of book fans out there who criticize them for not containing enough detail that the books contained. I commend their dedication, but there is a line between staying true to the books and creating a cinematically satisfying adaptation. Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix were the best of the first six movies to accomplish this balance, whereas Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber had too much of the books, while Goblet and Half-Blood didn’t have enough. Now as I was reading J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final book in the series, I began to wonder to myself how the filmmakers could possibly fit this much story into one movie (with a reasonable running time). The answer, it turned out, was that they didn’t, by making the smart choice of splitting Rowling’s epic finale into two parts. How does the first half fare without a clear conclusion?

Plot Synopsis: With Professor Dumbledore dead, Lord Voldemort has grown in power, with his Death Eater army sent out into the world remove all Muggle-borns from the wizarding world. With the Ministry of Magic in his pocket and Hogwarts without their strong leader, times have grown darker than ever. For Harry Potter, he must choose to leave the confines of the school and begin his hunt for Horcruxes, pieces of Voldemort's soul that, if destroyed, can end his reign of terror. While facing threats from all sides, even amongst their supposed allies, Harry and his friends Hermione and Ron take off into the wilds of the world. The search for the rest of the Horcruxes, in addition to figuring out how to destroy them, proves to be quite stressful for Harry, but he must hurry up as time is running out for him and those on his side.

Right from the beginning, director David Yates’ displays adept handling of the complex storyline inherent in The Deathly Hallows is readily apparent. Fans have derided his past two installments for deleting too much material from Rowling’s work, but they needn’t worry here, especially with the benefit of having an extra movie to tell the story. The movie has a more relaxed pace than its predecessors, allowing Yates more time to focus on the aspect that he has been consistently strong at in his Potter tenure: acting and character development. As with the previous installments, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron), and Emma Watson (Hermione all deliver performances that best their past work. Grint provides some of the usual comic relief we’ve become accustomed to, however this time Ron really begins to come into his own here as a strong voice, especially in a scene when he must overcome his fears near the end. But Watson and Radcliffe are the real stars here, and it was nice to see just the two of them spend time together and develop their friendship. One of the best scenes where Harry goes over to comfort Hermione by having a light dance with her, and that wasn’t even in the book.

Because most of the plot is focused on our three leads, the supporting cast doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time, but they each serve their purpose with confidence and tact. Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) and Alan Rickman (Snape) only get a couple of scenes each, but their roles will be greatly expanded by Part 2. Bill Nighy was nice to see as the new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, but his role was sadly brief. Something I’ll knock the movie (and by extension the book) for is that a couple of character deaths occur off-screen, which left me feeling cold and unsatisfied when they were explained away by someone else. The best of the bunch was newcomer Rhys Ifans, who brings fan-favorite Luna Lovegood’s father, Xenophilius, vibrantly to life with his quirky personality and inner torment in the short amount of time he appears.

 

Keeping in line with the work he’s put in so far in the series, Yates, coupled with new cinematographer Eduardo Serra, constructs another visually dynamic looking film. By toning down the creative color schemes present in Half-Blood Prince, Yates envisions a Harry Potter movie that feels like it’s grounded in the real world, which enhances the darkness of the story in a unique way and better displays how our heroes are left out on their own. The muted colors and wide landscapes exemplify their loneliness and coming to grips with reality, as opposed to the more stylized and special effects heavy installments of the past. That of course doesn’t mean there aren’t any marvelous effects sequences to be had here. The opening air chase that soon moves onto the crowded streets is especially thrilling and suspenseful, as is a close-quarters wand battle that resembles a gunfight from a western movie. The forest chase near the end is certainly tense, although it suffers from some overly shaky camerawork that makes it occasionally hard to follow.

 

Much like Order of the Phoenix, there is a compelling political undercurrent to the plot that often compares the Ministry of Magic to the ideals communism and the Nazi party (be on the lookout for the guards with gray uniforms and red armbands). It certainly adds a deeper resonance and greater sense of menace to the back-story of the plot, and these memorable scenes even allow us a chance to revisit old Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), the pink loving retired teacher we collectively rooted against in Phoenix. While I do have a couple of other minor gripes (the pacing could have been hastened just a tad), the only really big one is the fact that we have to wait till July next year to see the ending. It will be a very, very long and agonizing wait, but Part 1 provides enough strong acting, visual beauty, smooth storytelling, and even a little sadness to get us pumped up for 2011.

 

3.5/4    Rating Criteria