I have just come out of the cinema literally bubbling with excitement and awe. After a very dramatic week, seeing an early session of the new Harry Potter film seemed the perfect remedy for my nerves. Without a doubt, this is my favourite Harry Potter film (so far). I have only heard bad reviews about it from TV and radio critics and all I have to say to them is: “you have no freaking idea what you’re talking about!” These people have obviously not read the books and do not appreciate the art of filmmaking; analysing the effect of every tiny trick of the camera, sound effects, or scenery. As far as I am concerned, this film was effing brilliant! It had a healthy balance of dark and sinister scenes, action and battle sequences, and light-hearted comedy. It was remarkably true to the book (truer than any of the other films have been actually) and everything about it was absolutely perfect.
Things are as bad as ever in the wizarding world. The Ministry of Magic is crawling with supporters of the Dark Lord. Muggles are being slaughtered mercilessly. All over the country, mixed-race wizards are being abducted and stripped of their magical rights. All supporters of Harry Potter are under attack. And the Chosen One himself has been set an impossible task of finding and destroying four more Horcruxes. But with half the wizarding world after him, the other half too terrified to help him, and the giver of his wisdom no longer with him, for Harry nowhere is safe.
There were so many things right with this film that this review will probably be my longest post yet. Let’s first start with the setting and on-location scenes. We finally get to see more of the hills and forests and valley and the way they were filmed, mainly with aerial shots, wide and long shots, not only took in the spectacular scenery, but also impressed upon the audience the feeling of insignificance and loneliness that the heroes feel all the while. The marriage of the locations and the camera work was a match made in Heaven really.
Now let’s talk about our three central heroes:
Daniel Radcliffe delivers possibly his best performance in this movie. Going through a diverse range of emotions, he conveys each one with power and precision. Dan’s performance was really moving in this film. Rock on Dan!
Rupert Grint, bless him, is still providing the comic relief. Hey, it’s a noble job. As a girl, I could not help but notice how much he had broadened out in the chest area… oh my goodness, is it hot in here? Aside from his physical delivery, his performance was admirable. He has a tremendous sense of timing and that really helps when he has to break some of those awkward silences. But it’s not all laughs. There are a few sinister and almost violent scenes in which Rupert did wonderfully. My hat goes off to him.
And Emma Watson was lovely. I’ve (admittedly) always found her acting to be a little too indicative. Too heavy breathing, too shrill a shriek, too powerful gestures. But I swallow my words after watching this film. Her performance was mesmerising. Every emotion, she conveyed with a certain subtlety that has not manifested itself in the other films.
And Emma Watson was lovely. I’ve (admittedly) always found her acting to be a little too indicative. Too heavy breathing, too shrill a shriek, too powerful gestures. But I swallow my words after watching this film. Her performance was mesmerising. Every emotion, she conveyed with a certain subtlety that has not manifested itself in the other films.
More than often, the simpler things in life are far the more memorable and Emma’s performance was practically perfect as it was a little more toned-down and not so indicative as it has been. You go girl! The other thing I loved about this film was the clever use of camera tricks and visual illusions. As I mentioned before, the wide aerial shots successfully created an atmosphere of insignificance and there are other camera tricks that create the feeling of panic and flight. In one particularly tense scene, we find our heroes running for their lives and the cameraman is running right behind them. That hand-held camera style perfectly creates the feeling of flight or fight that comes with panic and an adrenaline rush. It’s always little things like that that stay with you. Another visual illusion that I liked was the illusion of Hermione’s beaded bag. Any time our heroes reach for anything in this bag, they reach so far down that the bag covers up to their shoulders, while still looking like it would not fit a hand. A classic visual illusion that is right up there with the lake scene in Dogma or the bathtub scene in Nightmare on Elm Street.
As if all this were not enough, the amount of stars is this film was mind-blowing: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, James and Oliver Phelps, Richard Griffiths, Harry Melling, Fiona Shaw, Timothy Spall, Mark Williams, Clemence Poesy, Frances de la Tour, John Hurt, Matthew Lewis, Imelda Staunton, Warwick Davis, Miranda Richardson, and Michael Gambon.
Filled with romance, suspense, sinister plots, amazing sets, knock-out special effects, touching and tear-jerking performances, familiar faces, and a bit of light-hearted comedy, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 has become my favourite Harry Potter film to date. It had absolutely everything right, was miraculously true to the book, and was practically perfect in every way.
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