Movie Rec: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 1

[retsuko]

This movie felt different from all the others that proceeded it; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 has more in common with a tense zombie movie like 28 Days Later or the empty landscapes of the plague decimated population of the excellent BBC series Survivors than it does with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. There are lovely and sad scenes where our three heroes, reluctantly on their own, wander through beautiful but deserted spaces (most eerily, a trailer park that seems like a setting straight out of a horror movie instead of a coming of age story full of magic and wonder.) Magic is not in short supply, but wonder and joy are, and the stakes could not be higher. The threats in this movie (to our heroes, to their world and the people they love) are more fully realized and the mood of the entire film is dark, dark, dark waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. And when it does drop... bad things happen, and they keep happening. Put together, it's a tremendously satisfying and dark story, and cuts off at a very natural point.

What I really love about this movie and the screenplay is that the annoying bickering that takes up about a third of the book has been effectively dealt with so that it doesn't bore me the way it did in the book. That said, the plot and large passages of dialogue are cut directly from the pages of the story, and what has been added is good. Neville gets a short but kick-ass scene; there's an added scary bit with Voldemort and Dumbledore's coffin that neatly frames the conflict. The added on scene that got the most attention in the theater I was in was the part where Ron storms off, and Harry and Hermione find themselves alone. A cheerful song comes on the radio and Harry dances with Hermione. The audience around us laughed, for reasons that didn't make a lot of sense... I thought this moment was well-timed and necessary to dispel some of the tension that had built up over the past few scenes. But perhaps it seemed forced to others?

The thing that I really noticed was how everyone did well with what little they had. Tom Felton, Jason Isaacs, and Alan Rickman are on screen for just a few minutes apiece, but each of them manages to make their appearances memorable and real. (Tom Felton, in particular, lets his internal struggle play across his features in a very interesting way.) I also loved how the characters in the Order of the Phoenix have a very real sense of solidarity with one another and for the cause they believe in.

Mostly, I cannot wait for Part 2 now! The movie ends at a very good point, but knowing what comes next, I am so, so eager to see the final conflict. Also, I am ready to cry like a baby at massive character death. I expected to cry at this film, but it didn't happen. More emotionally effective than the character death in this installment, I am sorry to say, is the torture. And it's not done in a ghoulish or creepy way... just horrible and realistic.

tl;dr version: Relentless tension still makes for a great plot and excellent acting work makes this a real treat. But the best treat of all will be seeing Part 1 and Part 2 together. XD

Trailer Park:

~ Green Hornet and Green Lantern duke it out for green-related superhero movie.
~ Cowboys & Aliens got a disbelieving laugh from the audience when the title finally came up, and I'm inclined to agree. Seriously: you spend all that money to hire Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, and make all those pretty special effects and blow stuff up, and you couldn't think of a better title?
~ Yogi Bear: O RLY (Addendum: Justin Timberlake... WHUT.)
~ Am I the only one who's not dying to see the new Tron movie? This trailer made it look very headachy and predictable. (I invented A.I. OH WAIT THE A.I. HAS TURNED AGAINST ME!!!1!)

Comments

[apintrix.livejournal.com]

Ah. I didn't get that sense at all. I got the sense of "here is a silly, overblown action movie-- deadpan, but all for fun." Particularly since action movies have been taking themselves way too seriously lately (pace Iron Man), I think that's part of what the title is wagging its tongue at.

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

OK, fair enough: if it ends up being like that, I could handle it. Daniel Craig is easy on the eyes. *sighs happily* (Although during the first half of the trailer, I kept thinking, man, he needs a shower!.)