Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Movie Review

Warner Brother's choice to turn Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two films instead of just one doubtless had two motivators. The first was unquestionably money, as there is much more profit to made from two films rather than one. However given the structure of the J. K. Rowling's final book in the series and that fact that it lacked side stories, it did not lend itself to the trimming down of the other books. This meant there was legitimate story telling reasons for the choice. It's a decision that has paid off very well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the strongest entry in the series so far.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 opens with a new Minister of Magic in place (played by Bill Nighy of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End) who is pledging to stay strong against the growing power of Voldemort (Ralph Fienes) and his army of Death Eaters. All throughout the wizarding world people are choosing their sides and many who would not join Voldemort are already going into hiding. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has decided to not return to Hogwarts to finish out his final year at the school and instead is determined to find the remaining horcruxes that hold fragmented parts of the Dark Lord's soul. Once they are destroyed it may be possible for Voldemort to be defeated. However Harry is not on his quest alone. First the Order of the Phoenix plan an elaborate escape to get Potter out of his house and into a safe place, and while it succeeds it is not without casualties. When the Death Eaters attack the safe house Harry flees with his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) in tow. The three together set out to find out what they can about the remaining horcruxes and how to destroy them while doing everything possible to keep from being discovered by those who've chosen to follow Voldemort.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 follows a completely different structure from any of the previous films in the franchise for several reasons. The first is that the format of the earlier films is completely gone. There are no more classrooms, no quidditch matches, in fact Hogwarts itself is never once visited or even seen on the screen. This frees the narrative in a way that wasn't possible with the earlier films because it doesn't have to keep touching back on the fact that Harry's in a school. The other reason for the very different feel to this film is pacing. Due to the choice to break the final book into two films it means that not everything has to be crammed into two hours. The result is a film that is much more leisurely paced than the sometimes break-neck speed of the earlier films. That is not to say that this movie is at any point dull or overly long. It simply means that scenes have a little more room to breath and it doesn't have the truncated feel that some of the other films had.

One of the downsides to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 being set completely outside of Hogwarts is that many of the brilliant supporting characters are reduced to cameos or don't appear altogether. Given the skilled and familiar cast that makes up both the teachers and students at Hogwarts it is slightly sad to have them so minimized. However this potential drawback is completely offset by how amazing the three leads are. Harry, Ron and Hermione are at the heart of this film and the three young actors playing them totally own every moment that they're on the screen. While the three have always been the focus they often had the more skilled adult actors to lean on (especially in the first few films.) Here however it is just the three of them for the majority of the film and it does show how good they've each become in their respective roles. Watching these younger actors grow as performers over the course of this franchise has been part of what has made is special. And all that growing skill culminates in the performances that are given here. The dynamic between the three is completely believable and each of them is given some very heavy moments to play and none of them ever falter.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is probably the film in the franchise with the least visual spectacle. Aside from the initial chase when Harry escapes his home there isn't a great deal of action. Much of film is just the three leads alone in a tent in the woods. While this might sound boring it never is and it helps illustrate that they truly are on their own at this point, with no safety net. The few scenes that are more action oriented are very well placed and they give the film a little jump start at just the right moments. It's also worth pointing out that even in this darkest film of the franchise that the humor of the characters is still allowed to shine through. It's quite impressive the way that director David Yates (this being his 3rd film in the series) is able to bounce so nimbly from tragedy to comedy and have it feel natural. There's also a rather unexpected and quite brilliantly executed animated sequence about 2/3 of the way in when Hermione relays a story from a book.

If there are any complaints to be had about the film they are either carry overs from the book or unavoidable. There is a high body count early on in the film and much like in the book at least one of those deaths feels severely underplayed. Basically a long running character is killed off screen and it's mentioned once and then everything moves on. On the one had it does drive home the point that nobody is safe and this is war, there isn't time to stop and mourn everybody. However it still feels cheapened since there is no reason the death couldn't have been shown even if briefly. The other issue is a lack of closure, but really there was no way to have any sense of closure since this film doesn't go to the end of the book it takes its story from. The ending point was very well chosen as it feels like a good place to pause before the final film is released next year.

More than any other film the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 can only really be appreciated by people who have seen the other movies (if not read the books as well.) This film is truly a culmination of what has come before it, both in terms of the story and skill of young stars. Everything from the previous films is built upon to bring this exhilarating and dark film. It is genuinely dark, not just for the character deaths but for the sense of hopelessness that often permeates the film. But as with any good story the heroes must first be broken down before they can be built back up. It's just sad that audiences will have to wait until July of next year to see the saga completed.

Final Score: 4.5 out of 5