The past week hasn’t exactly seen a vacuum of opinion on the successes and failures of the new Harry Potter film. Reviewers have been wagging their fingers at saggy pacing, whilst oohing and aahing over a selection of stunning sequences. Cinemagoers have found the amputated plot both a frustration and a blessed relief. We must have heard every possible variation as to whether one, some, or none of its three young leads can actually act yet. But like the teen trio hunting down those nasty horcruxes, one last job remains to be done. As other reviews, including our own, have kindly tiptoed their way around anything that could be considered a spoiler, we thought we’d put this to bed by doing the exact opposite. So here it is – a final, fully spoiler-packed look at the penultimate film in the Potter franchise. This first instalment of the final story whips through about two thirds of the novel (presumably so director David Yates can dedicate a generous portion of the next film to what promises to be an epic Battle of Hogwarts third act), to close with Voldemort seizing the Elder Wand. As He Who Must Not Be Named leans into Dumbledore’s cracked tomb and prises the wand of power from the former headmaster’s dead but well preserved hands, a military theme rises from Alexandre Desplat’s otherwise gorgeously languid score, so we’re left in no doubt that the wizarding world is now in a state of war. Moments beforehand, the camera had left Harry and friends on a beach mourning the sad passing of Dobby the elf. Whether or not you well up at this part seems to rely largely on your ability to separate the character of Dobby from a mental image of a half-naked Vladimir Putin. Best of luck. Fair enough. So what’s been changed from the book? Understandably, a fair few things have been streamlined: Viktor Krum is absent from the wedding, Lupin doesn’t try to abandon his wife and child, Hedwig dies trying to protect Harry rather than as a casualty of war, there’s no talk of Fred and George’s pirate radio station, the details of Dumbledore’s troubled adolescence have most likely been shunted to the next film and Harry isn’t disguised with polyjuice at the wedding, or during the Godric’s Hollow visit, for obvious practicality reasons. A few elements have also been added that weren’t in the book, including a brief scene where Death Eaters storm the Hogwart’s Express in search of Undesirable No 1 (presumably to remind the audience where everyone else was while all that camping was going on). One very welcome addition to the original story does turns up in the form of a wordless scene between Radcliffe and Watson who, temporarily alone after Grint’s disappearing act, dance to a Nick Cave song playing on the radio. I urge all those who’ve dismissed this sequence as a pointless ‘will they won’t they moment’ to take another look. Not only is it nothing of the sort, it’s also the best acting I’ve seen yet from these two. Okay, so we’ll look out for that bit. But is the film really as dark as everyone says it is? Well, it is saying something when the cheeriest part of a movie is soundtracked by Nick Cave… Those who read holocaust or Ku Klux Klan subtexts into the books aren’t overstating the case one bit: Rowling’s stories are clear allegories for real world atrocities and intolerance. But it is Yates, the director of films five to seven, who has realised Rowling’s message by using the imagery of twentieth century fascism. Yates’ rendering of the Ministry of Magic has not been called Orwellian for nothing. Drawing strongly on the stuff of fascist propaganda, the Deathly Hallows iteration of the ministry is a fearfully dark place and has been so since Yates first took the helm for Order of the Phoenix. The film is also dark in less metaphorical terms. Eduardo Serra’s photography paints the forest scenes with an eerie blue silver pallor that’s perfect for a world of magic. The fated visit to Godric’s Hollow makes particularly good use of the contrast between light and dark, as a fight sends the characters crashing from the shadowy, medieval-looking wizarding world into the brightly lit muggle bedroom next door, as Yates reminds us of the duality at the heart of Rowling’s original creation. Umm, okay. So who dies in this one? I’m telling you, though, the body count will take a significant hike in the next one. Sounds serious. Anyway, what was the best bit? The smoke-like effect of the Death Eaters’ flight and the tar-like substance that seeps out from the locket before it’s destroyed were undoubtedly digital wonders, but the real star has to be the sound design. From the high pitched scratching whirr of the horcrux just audible underneath Desplat’s accomplished score, to the faint buzzing of flies around the reanimated corpse of Bathilda Bagshot and the penetration of invisible magical barriers, the sound was masterfully handled. The Three Brothers animation, retold during the trio’s visit to Xenophilius Lovegood deserves all the praise being heaped upon it. Created by Swiss director Ben Hibon (also commissioned by Sony to produce a series of animations based on the PS3 game Heavenly Sword), it’s the most beautiful thing in the film by a long shot. Reminiscent of Jan Pienkowski’s children’s illustrations, which took their inspiration from Lotte Reiniger’s 1930s fairy tale animations, the three minute sequence does more than its fair share for the film’s artistry. About an hour or so is mostly camping, yeah. Alright, thanks. One last question. Is it better than the Twilight movies? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is out now. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here.
