Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Runtime: 146 mins
Rating: ***
It’s never good when you emerge from a cinema thinking “is that it?” Of course, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, this was sort-of inevitable; any reader of the final book knows that there isn’t a comfortable cut-off point around the middle, and as such the ending of this film tries its hardest to find a cliff-hanger, but ultimately comes up short.
Staying away from the end – doomed ever since they decided to make the final instalment a two-parter – this film is just like the last two that David Yates directed (Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince): perfectly adequate, but somewhat lacking. Granted, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is a marked improvement, and you get the impression that Yates thrives in creating bleak settings, such as the Ministry of Magic, now positively dystopian under the control of the Death Eaters. The moments of solace that films 1-4 provided have gone where they previously existed in the books, replaced by a sprinkling of dark humour.
And that’s what makes this film stand out: it’s funny. The screening I went to was completely sold out, and the audience erupted into laughter dozens of times throughout, even when things weren’t going particularly well. Now that the characters are 17, sex as a source of humour is fully exploited. Here, you can tell that Steve Kloves (the screenwriter for the vast majority of the films) has been bursting to exploit the double-entendres in the word “wand” for a while.
The problem is that there are points in the story that are genuinely supposed to be harrowing or scary, and they aren’t. And the moments that should pack emotional punch just don’t. The scene that’s currently the topic of a lot of controversy, an inserted-for-the-film moment where a nude Harry and Hermione kiss (for die-hard fans screaming with rage, it’s not as it seems), is more hilarious than anything else. Likewise, Dobby the house-elf’s heroic finish just seems silly rather than cathartic.
But it’s alright. As always, the visuals are fantastic, it’s knowingly clever (some of the best acting comes from three characters who, technically, never actually speak), and the supporting cast are ridiculously gifted. People remain divided on the actual talent of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, but they’ve certainly improved here. With all of them in their twenties at the time of the film’s production, they’ve matured to a point where occasionally it’s not quite as obvious as usual that they’re acting.
It’s not a great film. But you should see it, because otherwise you won’t be ready for the last one – newcomers to the series will really need to start from the beginning, otherwise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is incomprehensible. Of course, alternatively, you could just read the books.
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Good review – I think you touch upon a lot of points that I also felt after the initial high had worn off. I’ve always been a fan so I was actually happy with the no-beginning-or-end feel of this one, as it really did reflect the first half of the book. They finally had screen time to flesh out the plot and add little things that made a big difference – the story of the three brothers in its entirety was, for example, something I thought would be too much to hope for but was pleasantly surprised about.
I think the “lack” which you vaguely touch upon but then abandon may have been the character dynamics. Yates had the chance to make everything more emotionally charged, and I think he could have used that chance more skillfully near the end at Malfoy Manor. Other than the cringe-worthy lack of on-screen chemistry between Harry and Ginny, though, nothing really felt out of place in my opinion, and the slower pace actually allowed for the fantastic cinematography to sink in for once.
But come on – the DANCE SCENE. I mean, seriously? They needed to put in a DANCE SCENE to show that Harry and Hermione were friends? Was that the best they could come up with?
Totally agree with you on the whole three brothers thing, by the way. That was pleasant, and I think the semi-Clone Wars style worked (even though it shouldn’t have).
Oh, and I did have stuff in there about character dynamics, but there’s a word count on these things I have to respect. Shame, really. Thanks for the feedback!
Ah ok, didn’t know about the word count rule!
Oh yes – the dance scene. I must have erased it from my memory because it was so useless.
The big question is are there any deleted scenes which reveal whether Emma Watson has been similarly severe on her downstairs crop…????