I broke. I just couldn't do it. I had planned to hold out, see Deathly Hallows when there were less people in the theaters, when there was the possibility of seeing it at a cheap theater even. But I just couldn't do it. I spent a good chunk of my cash to take my mom to a mall and buy tickets to the 5:30 show on Saturday.
But, oh my gosh, even if it had been the last of my money (which it wasn't), it would have been worth it. I have no idea how I expected to wait to see it. I already want to see it again. And again. And again. And... you get the idea.
I know. I know what it is you really want to know. What did I think? Isn't that what almost the whole planet is discussing now?
Here's what I think:
I'm going to be honest. Since the third film, I haven't gone into the movies with too high of hopes, but I was so excited for this one, and so scared that I was going to be disappointed.
I wasn't.
Deathly Hallows Part One is everything you could possibly ask for. Some of the content is moved around, and some of it is cut, but you know that has to happen. It's inevitable when a book is made into a movie. Especially a book as detailed as this. I'm happy that major things weren't cut, especially when it comes to character relationships. Because, for me, the ties that bind the characters together make the stories more believable.
I don't even know how to write right now. My mind is faster than my fingers, so you might end up getting a list here, or rambling that doesn't make much sense.
Also, I apologize in advance, because this is going to be long. I just have a feeling I'm not going to be able to reign in my words.
I love that the beginning of the movie showed us how grave the situation in the world is with people other than Harry. We know that things are always from his point of view, but I think there's more weight when you see how everyone else is effected. You get to see the minister's impassioned speech about protecting people (though, I still have a hard time seeing Bill Nighy in anything and not picture him rocking out naked because of Love Actually. And now you're probably picturing that. I'm sorry.), Hermione preparing to leave her family, Ron looking out over the property around the Burrow. And it was Hermione that broke my heart. Emma Watson has matured so much as an actress. She sells so much of this movie. When she whispered “Obliviate” and pointed her wand at her parents, I think I almost lost it right there. For some reason, that moment, and it's only a couple of minutes into the film, made me realize, not only how incredibly difficult something like that would be, and just what doing that means for her, but simultaneously that the films are almost over. I had to dig my nails into my palm to prevent myself from crying. And I'm not someone who gets emotional during films.
I'm also glad that we get to see Harry the hero right off the bat. He's very much against everyone else that shows up to take him to the Burrow pretending to be him. Hermione walking up behind him, being the one to yank out some of his hair, and nonchalantly walk over to Moody so he could add it into the Polyjuice Potion was great as well. The attempts at diffusing the tension in the scene, Ron making a crack about how they've never risked their lives before, full of sarcasm, and one of the twins wanting to know how Moody knows what Goblin piss tastes like, work really well. In fact, I'd say every spot in the film that has those little jokes fit in perfectly. There's a great rhythm to it. No matter how awful things seem, how depressing and stark the landscape looks, there are those bright spots.
That scene is also great because it allows for the viewer to take all of these people in and say, okay, how do I know each of them? You get Moody and Mundungus and Kingsley and the Twins and Remus and Tonks and Bill and Fleur and Mr. Weasely and Ron and Hermione. It's also an interesting acting exercise for Daniel Radcliffe because, obviously, he's playing all of them when they've ingested the potion and are all Harry. Him standing rigid with his arms crossed as Hermione, him putting his arms around Bill as Fleur, it's all interesting to watch him subtly change his performance for each of them.
And oh my god. I haven't even been able to get, like, 20 minutes into the film yet. I'm going to have to temper myself better here. I'll stick with some of my favorites.
The wedding bit is very quick, which works out well because the story doesn't get bogged down then. We get to go right into the trio's search for the Horcuxes without too much fuss. I liked the continuity of Hermione having a difficult time wiping the minds of the Death Eaters they encounter. And Ron referring to Harry as The Boss when he tells them what to do is a nice nod to Ron's growing feelings of inadequacy while still managing to convey that Ron and Hermione are trusting Harry to know what they need to do. Oh, when they're on the run, and they go to Grimmauld Place because they assume it to be safe, I love, love, love, that they kept in the part with Harry waking up to see Ron and Hermione's hands right next to each other. I think that it's sweet, and it was something from the book that I was hoping would be kept in because it demonstrates how much Hermione and Ron have grown. That's not something that would have ever been able to happen before that point in the story. Especially since they've kept dancing around how they feel about one another without actually saying anything to one another.
You would think that a story that was comprised mainly of three characters hiding out in woods and on the sides of cliffs would get boring? But it was never boring. The scenery is breathtaking. In a really haunting way. And I think it made everything that much more tense. Even knowing the story in advance, you still feel like the possibility exists for someone to come traipsing out from the trees and cause trouble. There is never this moment where you believe the main characters are safe. Even though I know who makes it to what part of the story, I still found myself listening to the radio intently with Ron, waiting to hear a name I recognized. I found myself wanting to yell at the screen for both Harry, and Hermione, at different times, to not go wandering around the woods on their own. It's like, you're on edge the entire movie, waiting for... something.
Speaking of the trio and the woods, Rupert Grint is as amazing as Emma Watson. I know I said she sells a lot of the movie with her performance, and she absolutely does, but Rupert has always been my favorite of the three of them because I've always felt his performance is effortless. That's mostly because he's kind of been shafted in the past films though into the role of the simple sidekick. Ron's got a whole lot more heart in the books. But that comes across in this movie as well. His character becomes a lot more conflicted, and Rupert pulls it all off perfectly. He's the one who thinks about killing a Death Eater that comes after them. And while you're appalled because you don't want this fun guy to become so cold, you get it. He's who you feel for as the hunt goes on and he starts to feel cut off, not only from his family and the rest of the world, but from his best friends as well. He sees Harry and Hermione getting closer while he's injured, and Ron starts to feel useless. And Rupert is just perfect. The fight where Harry tells him to leave, and Ron turns to see if Hermione is going to come with him? I wanted to tell her to go, even though I knew it was ridiculous. I wanted to tell her to go and make him feel better and take a break, and then come back to the end of the world later.
And there's a scene that's added in after Ron leaves and Hermione feels lost that, on the one hand, I love, and on the other, I hate. Harry takes it upon himself to make her feel better by taking her hand and dancing with her. And they both laugh as they twirl around inside the tent, and it's all so sweet, and like the hand holding, something that would never have happened a few years earlier. I think it's a nice note on how the characters have matured. But, I think part of the problem for me, is that Dan and Emma have too much chemistry. I've always thought that she had more chemistry with Dan than she did with Rupert (though the chemistry between her and Rupert this time around is so much better somehow), which makes the Ron/Hermione relationship a little more slow to develop in the minds of viewers, unlike the readers. And with this scene, I fully expected him (Dan/Harry) to kiss her, that it wasn't just a friendly gesture. And that created a bit of a mental conundrum for me. But then, as the dance ended, and Emma's face just completely fell, I think that was the affirmation that people needed that, for Hermione, there is only Ron. Her relationship with Harry is nowhere near the same.
(There is, obviously, a lot more that happens between these two parts, but I'm trying to shorten my reactions here, at least a little bit. I am obviously failing. But I probably don't need to do a frame by frame analysis here.)
And then there are the scenes where Ron returns. I mean, there's his actual return to help Harry, which is pretty much what you can expect if you've read the book. But then, there's the destroying of a horcrux immediately after that. That scene was just... disturbing. Points to the filmmakers for making me unsure what to think. I mean, I get the dialogue. It's mainly right out of the book. But, Emma and Dan (because, I'm sorry, I can't think of it as Hermione and Harry to go over it in my mind right now) going at it on screen made me feel incredibly disturbed. It's creepy. And almost alien-like, the way it was shot. And Ron going for the horcux made me breathe a sigh of relief. I didn't need to see any of that any more than he did. And then, when the two guys go back to find Hermione, her reaction to Ron being back is perfect. I can't even tell you. Unless you've seen it, I won't even discuss it with you. Emma Watson and the guys were perfect. I was actually reminded of one of the first interviews I saw the three of them do together on the Rosie O'Donnel Show (Wow. So long ago.) and a comment was made by one of the boys that Emma was a bit bossy, and they both pretended to be afraid of her when she questioned them on it. And Ron's speech about how he found them... it's so perfect. And I think I fell in love with him a little bit more. Because Ron, like Rupert, has always been one of my favorites, but what he says is really sweet. Seriously, it's cheesy, but you'll swoon anyway. And then, he keeps trying to get on Hermione's good side, and she just won't give in. And Harry wants to know how long she can stay mad at him. “I'm always mad at him.”
Okay, seriously, I love Ron and Hermione. How can you not? Moving on...
Malfoy Manor is suitably creepy. And Helena Bonham Carter is suitably insane. When our main characters end up there... it feels like every bad thing you've been afraid would happen during the movie is about to happen. If I had one bone to pick with the sequence, I think I would have wanted more down time. I mean, they are captured, Draco examines Harry, Hermione is tortured, and then, they make a break for it. It's very quick. Hermione being tortured isn't shown (much) and it isn't the same as what's in the book, but I think it's better. It's one of those moments that makes your breath catch in your chest. Again, Emma is perfection in the parts of the scene that are show. There isn't a lot of time down in the basement with the prisoners while she is upstairs screaming, so we don't get quite as strong of a reaction to what is happening from Ron as I would have expected. When he is banging on the bars in the books, trying to get out of this place with his bare hands because they don't have wands, that's a moment that really hit me hard. It's not the same on screen. Though I would say it's made up for with Ron not seeming to want to let go of Hermione once they get her back.
Like I said, it's the relationships that really make the stories for me.
And, maybe I should stop here. I'm almost to the end of the film anyway. And I can't imagine someone out there is still reading this. Though, I will say, where the movie cuts off for Part Two was a smart decision on the part of the screenwriter. I'd have to agree with all of the reviewers who say it isn't a giant cliff hanger, but it definitely leaves you wanting more. July never seemed so far away from November before now.
Now, if you didn't read all of that craziness under the first cut, or if you just want more, I have something else.
I originally wrote a piece looking back on Harry Potter over the last decade for Portrait. But, over at Portrait, we don't feature a lot of content related to the books or the films, so it didn't make the November issue. It's the decision of the editor, and one that I respect. But, I went back and rewrote what would have been the article a little bit, and I'm posting it here. I didn't want it to just sit on my laptop with no one having read it but myself and the editor.
Read if you want. Skip it and I won't hold it against you. Believe me, after sitting here and writing all of this, I would understand.
The year 2000 seems like such a long time ago, doesn't it? It's incredibly strange to me to think that 10 years ago, I was thirteen. Or that ten years ago I would receive an English assignment that would be a jumping off point for what feels like an era defined by Young Adult Literature that would cross all kinds of boundaries.
You see, when I was thirteen, my class was given a choice of “fantasy” novels. We were fresh off The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963, which was so rooted in realism and southern history, that our teacher thought we needed a break. We were given the option of reading Ella Enchanted or one of the first two novels in a new to the USA series about a boy who discovered he was actually a wizard. Wanting to buck the trend and not read the “girlier” option, I chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling.
Now, if you're from another country, your stone probably belonged to a Philosopher instead, and while I still think that's a little catchier, I have to admit, unlike thousands upon thousands of kids who picked up the book, including many of my classmates, I wasn't hooked right away. Instead, because I am someone who likes to finish something, and because I knew it was the first book in a series, I went out and picked up Chamber of Secrets once I had finished my assignment. (I have to admit, now, I don't even remember what the assignment was, but I still have the book, complete with underlined passages and notes in the margins.) And then, because I was intrigued just a little bit, I even went ahead and picked up Prisoner of Azkaban. And I hate stories that don't feel finished, so I waited impatiently for Goblet of Fire next. So many of the people I knew were excited for the next book, telling me about it. But it wasn't the books that put my appreciation for the story into overdrive. And, as a bibliophile, it pains me to admit that it was my freshman year of high school that really made me think long and hard about this boy wizard and the life he was leading on the page.
I couldn't go anywhere that year without people theorizing about WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. Just like that too. In all capital letters. People were yelling their theories down the hallways, comparing the stories to books they were reading in their Honors English classes. And it wasn't just the Honors students. It was everyone. No one seemed to be able to escape the pull of these books, even the kids who were usually too cool to like what everyone else liked. Even the kids who thought the books were awful were talking about them. And, of course, the first movie had been in production for a while at that point. And I was taking a class on the History of American Film. So, inevitably as November approached, conversation turned to the three previously unknown kids who were giving interviews and the previews that had been shown for the film and what kind of history was really being made and... well, you get the idea.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Official Trailer
Click to view
You might not realize this, but Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the first major motion picture to be produced and distributed right smack in the middle of the series of books being written. That was one of the chief reasons it became a hot topic in class, and why the entire world felt the need to critique casting choices. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint had no idea what they were getting into before they were even teenagers. My classmates predicted what kind of box office revenue was going to be generated opening weekend (most of them were way off), who was going to the first showing of the film (almost everyone), what they were expecting out of it (lots of effects), whether the John Williams score was really going to be as good as everyone thought (it was), and when the inevitable parodies and remake would follow (most estimated fifty years for a real attempt at a remake). It was the most discussion anyone had ever generated in my film class. Even the movie buffs. It was a major milestone for our class, and the remainder of the semester proved to be much more lively.
But for me, coming back to school after the weekend that the first film opened was completely eye opening. Instead of people talking about the parties they went to, the trouble they got into, people were talking about a book. For years, my friends had joked that I liked books more than people, and now, here they were, purchasing a book that they didn't have to read for school, dissecting it at lunch, discussing the major differences between it and its new movie. It was nothing short of amazing. People were passing the books around, sharing them with siblings, and actually asking English teachers for similar books that they could read while waiting for the next one to come out. I had previously been of the opinion that books were always, always, always, better than the movies that followed and that movies were to be held at arms length.
I had no idea what to think. So, instead of, pardon the pun, reading too much into it, I joined in. I devoured everything related to the Potter world. I read the theories, the essays, watched interviews, listened to radio broadcasts, discovered
Mugglenet and
The Leaky Cauldron, tried to understand both sides of the religious and censorship debates, and had a healthy appreciation for the growing size of advanced English classes at my high school. I even skipped school for the first time (with my mom's permission) to stand in line with a friend and her sister to get free tickets to an advanced screening when the third film in the series came out a couple of years later. I went to midnight releases for books five and six with friends. I remained a loyal fan through all of the books, and all of the films. (The seventh and final book was released my junior year of college.) Because once I saw the first film, I was truly hooked. Movies didn't have to be pale imitations of their source material. They could just be different interpretations. And besides, who was I to stand in the way of a fellow teen who was inspired to read a book after seeing the movie?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Official Trailer
Click to view
This weekend, a decade after I got that first English assignment, marked the beginning of the end for all of the Potter fans. Because this weekend, the first of the two part finale was released into theaters. And that means there are more ends coming. Harry will raise his wand for the last time. Hermione will give her last eye roll. Ron will blush red and yell in frustration just once more. And He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will terrorize communities for the last time. Critics will have their last shot at lauding or panning a “kid's movie.” Protesters will have this last shot at banning the project that originally sprung from the mind of a single mom riding on a train.
At least until part two of this final chapter is released next year.
And an era will come to an end. But the history, the stuff of legend, will live on. Because whether Harry has given you the literary or cinematic journey of your life or not, whether you can't stand the fictional character because of the religious/moral/political/whatever implications or not, there is no denying that “the boy who lived” and his friends have left a lasting impression on the world. If you were a kid at any point during the time that the books landed on best seller lists around the world, you were there when our ideas about children's literature changed. You were there when literacy rates began to jump up and children everywhere started wanting books for presents. And you were there when adults decided it was okay to read a book aimed at their kids. You were even there for “Quidditch” to be added to the dictionary.
Of course, in saying all of this, and looking back on my own journey with the series, I think of the (paraphrased) quote “great stories don't end just because there is nothing left on the page.” And that's the truth. Because even though this is the beginning of the end for all of us who have been there from the start, the reality is, with the opening of the Harry Potter section of Universal's theme park in my home state and libraries around the world keeping the novels in permanent stock, Harry's here to stay.
Like it or not.
This end is just another beginning.