I just came back from watching Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1. I like many others have devoured the books, watched each movie as it came out & argued the merits of each film in comparison to the original book version. Yes, the movies aren't able to put in every sub-plot in their full details. Yes, the movies have reconfigured, rearranged, and omitted things in some of the books that are important to understanding the resolutions of each installment. Nonetheless, It's amazing that movies have been made of ALL SEVEN BOOKS. It's amazing that Warner Bros, a Hollywood Studio, invested in filming every installment of this book series, starting at a time when it wasn't certain how many Harry Potter books the author Jo (J.K.) Rowling was planning on writing. It's amazing that all of the main characters & most of the supporting characters came back for nearly every single film required of them. It's amazing that people got to watch every child actor in the series come of age through the stories progressing through a year in each film. It's amazing that the quality of the storytelling in the series mostly improved with each subsequent film. Altogether, It's amazing that there is a film for each book in the series. When does that happen. Usually with a film series based on a series of books the studio makes 2-4 films & calls it a day even if there's still storytelling potential for more films. Harry Potter is different.
That all being said, I'll now get onto my opinion of the 1st half of a 2 film extravaganza that depicts the events of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows. The first thing that I have to say is that the film is honestly scary in quite a few parts and it should be. The most absolutely evil Wizard of all time has shown his cards and seized control of the Wizard government known as The Ministry of Magic. All hell should be breaking loose. Death Eaters (Voldemort's followers) are everywhere and they're rounding up mudbloods (biologically mixed wizards or wizards born to non-magical parents aka muggles) to be tortured like sacrificial lambs up for slaughter. The initial scene with the Death Eaters meeting around a long dining table while torturing a mudblood via magic is very uncomfortable to watch. As it should be. I love how the Ministry of Magic scene had guards that were dressed up like Nazi Secret Policemen. The conflict has come to a head and Harry has to kill Voldemort for the sake of the lives of magic folk & muggles. You really see how deeply affected Harry's friends are because he's in their lives. The recurring theme of enduring through trust in your friendships is really driven down in this film. Harry's friends are there for him despite how much genuine danger they've put themselves in merely by associating with him. The Locket that is one of Voldemort's horcruxes (items holding fragments of Voldemort's soul through strong enchantments) is a brilliant McGuffin to bring about conflict amongst Harry, Ron & Hermione. It's basically like the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy in that it brings out a person's paranoia, jealousies, insecurities & everything potentially evil about that person. It causes Ron to temporarily leave his 2 best friends in the middle of this 1st half of HP7. The original Dance Scene, not found in the book, added by Director David Yates is one of the highlights of the film. Is the dancing in the brief sequence good? No & it's not supposed to be. It's merely Harry trying to comfort his good friend Hermione while their mutual resolve to find solutions to destroying the Horcruxes & the world around them is steadily crumbling under the tyranny of a Wizard War. The movie always leaves a bit of hope & humor inter-weaved with the scariness of mass conflict. It also remembers to personalize the present and past conflicts of the Wizarding world with personal stories. An excellent example is the Godric's Hollow scene set during Christmas. Harry & Hermione encounter the ruins of the home that Harry lived in briefly as an infant & visit the graves of his parents. The audience grieves with Harry because we're deeply invested in him. It's that expert blend of tragedy & triumph at the heart of the Harry Potter narrative at work again. A solemn moment is given room to breathe while still swiftly shifting to the grotesque scariness of the Bathilda Bagshot transforming into Voldemort's snake Nagini. Harry & his friends are fugitives. Time for careful deliberation and planning is no longer their reality. The safe confines of childhood symbolized by Hogwarts are cast aside and Harry, Ron and Hermione aren't ready for it. Through the whole film they struggle with their mission, each other, and who within the wizarding world they're still able to trust. Friends and Foes are dropping like flies all around Harry, Ron and Hermione. They're put through a mental, emotional and physical ringer all the way through this installment and I love it for it.
The shadow puppet animation sequence describing the 3 brothers tale from Beetle & the Bard alone deserves it's own analysis. I loved every moment of the beginning of the end of Harry Potter. I can't wait for the 2nd half & FINAL film of the Harry Potter saga this summer. After that, I can't wait until I can have an 8 film Harry Potter Film Marathon in the comfort of my home. I hope that Warner Bros puts out a 4 and a half hour version of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows for home viewing because it's already obvious that these 2 final films will be even better if viewed as a single film much like the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions.
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