Movies Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Nov 18, 2010, 0:13 GMT

Voldemort\'s power is growing stronger. He now has control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to finish Dumbledore\'s work and find the rest of the Horcruxes to defeat the Dark Lord. But little hope remains for them, so everything they do must go as planned. ...more

This penultimate film in the Harry Potter series is probably the most intriguing, best executed, and most lavishly beautiful. 

The mindscape Yates creates is romantic, Gothic, filled with dread and dreams, and touches on love as a philosophy, as opposed to a game.  It’s a cinematic accomplishment that goes far beyond the teenage franchise pap.

The talent, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, are so in synch with one another after all these years together, that they are finally fully developed characters able to present new aspects to their personalities and their understanding of their complicated world.

It’s a total joy to witness the result of working together and seeing the talent blossom, the friendship increase and be able to understand them on a higher plane.
Especially outstanding is Rupert Grint as Ron, the lovestruck boy who becomes a man before our eyes, weathering the storms of love. 

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry is significantly more in charge of himself and the game, and Emily Watson at Hermione meets bigger dramatic challenges. Still Watson looks as angry as ever.  Radcliffe and Watson should take a leaf from Grint’s spell book and bring nuance and courage to their work.

The perpetual trio is on a mission (kid you not) to find and destroy the Horcuxes (Lord of the Rings, anyone?) a set of powerful gems which are evil to the core.  Wearing them whilst working to discover a way of destroying the stubborn things is enough to bring on fits of pique and depression. 

This seems a weak frame on which to hang the story because it is at its core about the ripening of their interpersonal relationships and discovery of their places in the world.  It’s about growing older.

Much of the film takes place in the woods, a location suited to their primal and ancient undertakings.  It’s suitably shadowy, dark, and dangerous and yet embracing, a proper place for magic and mayhem. 

As a result, there is less interaction with the traditional antagonists like Severus Snape, Bellatrix LeStrange, and Lucius Malfoy.  Helena Bonham Carter must give up on the Victorian hag thing- after Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd and her ongoing role in the Potter series; she’s done the unattractive, weedy, butch/bitch thing to death.  

The figures known as the Deathly Hallows are presented in a stupendous bit of filmmaking magic –a graceful, moving, and evocative animated sequence that will stay with audiences long after the film. 

It’s a standout moment in recent film history and a real jewel for Potter fans.

The final scenes are totally reminiscent of Twilight which although seems like a lazy choice, proves to be dramatic and highly visual.  The only real problem presented by the film is that it’s so good so that it’s excruciating to have to wait until July for Part 2, the series finale.  Sob.

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35mm fantasy adventure
Written by Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling
Directed by David Yates
Opens: Nov 19
Runtime: 146 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality
Country: UK
Language: English