Director: David Yates
Year: 2010
Rating: ***
Here you have it, Potter fans: the penultimate installment of Harry's adventures! As we settled in to the theater the day after Thanksgiving, there was admittedly a part of me that didn't want it to start because that would mean the end was that much closer...
We pick up with the crew at the beginning of what should be their 7th year at Hogwarts. Instead, the Dursleys leave Harry alone at Privet Drive, Hermione wipes her parents' memories clean, and Ron and his family prepare for Bill and Fleur's wedding at the Burrow. Evil brews everywhere else, as Voldemort and his Deatheaters plot their attack on Harry & Co. for the day he turns 17. Of humorous note is the scene with the 7 Harrys.
As the Ministry is infiltrated and the wizarding world starts to crumble, Harry, Hermione and Ron set off to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, as instructed, albeit cryptically, by Dumbledore. Along the way, they discover the Deathly Hallows, and grapple with whether to add that to their quest. This journey brings them all over the UK, using Hermione's amazing extendable handbag and the Weasley's extendable tent. Our heroes link up with Kreacher and Dobby, penetrate the Ministry for an afternoon, and test themselves in a way school never could. The themes get increasingly more adult as the books go on, and the movie version is no exception - friends die, characters kiss, and the fear factor just about triples along the way. The tension between Ron and Hermione, by the way, is simply delicious: "Are you still mad at him?" "I'm always mad at him." Love it!
This movie definitely moves quickly at times, potentially leaving non-readers in its magical wake. The effects and motivation for curses and plot twists, while exhaustively explained in the book, is slightly less clear on screen, despite their best efforts. The characters are, of course, compelling, the effects are awesome, and to their credit, the filmmakers seem to have included the most vital bits of the book. My one complaint, and this is as much for Ms. Rowling as much as for the movie makers, is that the complicated history of wandlore is not explained until the last third of the book and, subsequently, doesn't make it into Part I of the film. It feels like too much to save til the end, but so be it.
Particularly well done is the tale of the three brothers, which unfolds during their visit to Xenophilius Lovegood
(played hauntingly by Rhys Ifans, a personal fave). Also dramatic and visually powerful is Ron's encounter with the necklace
horcrux. Rupert Grint does a wonderful job, as always, with Ron; his loyalty tested, his ego in shreds, his speech upon rejoining his friends is simply beautifully delivered. Harry and Hermione's visit to Godric's Hollow is creepy, thanks to Hazel Douglas, the old lady they got to play Bathilda Bagshot (and whoever did her make up), yet also poignant as he revisits the scene of his infamous attack. Excellent throughout, as always, are James and Oliver Phelps as Fred and George, and Evanna Lynch as Luna. Voldemort is suitably scary, although I admit that I'm constantly bothered by the fact that Ralph Fiennes (who I usually love!) sounds like he has a perpetually stuffy nose! A villain with a cold, in addition to a cold heart...
I'm excited for Part II! I went back and re-read the remaining chapters, and there's still a lot of action ahead!
