We Grew Old Together

Rating: 8/10 (21 November 2010)

In the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the viewer is immediately introduced to the dark nature of the film. Hermione puts her parents under a spell that makes them forget she ever lived ("Obliviate!"). The Minister of Magic warns that Voldemort has returned. A teacher from Hogwarts hovers over a table, only to be dropped to her death by Snape ("Cruciatus!"). And so we begin the dark final chapter of Harry Potter, and quite possibly one of the better ones, too.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who is now seventeen years old, has dropped out of Hogwarts. Instead of learning spells for his last year, he will be hunting down the Voldemort's seven horcruxes, or the pieces of Voldemort's soul. When he finds all of them, he will destroy them and end Voldemort for good. But the trials that await him were enough for the writer of this film to split it into two parts, a decision that was probably for the better. Part 1 of the final installment follows Harry and his friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), in his fateful journey. In this odd twist on the road movie, the characters learn about the histories of the wizarding world as well as a few things about themselves.
The style of the sixth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has carried over into this film. The visuals are even colder in this one, with a greater amount of grays, blacks, and whites. Cinematography is not the only thing David Yates, the director, relies on to keep the film moody and disturbing. Steven Kloves, the writer of the film, has chosen to keep J.K. Rowling's disquieting atmosphere by removing all humor found in the other films. His simplified version of the story has not left out the least kid-friendly sequences in the movie, these being the violent ones. Over the course of the movie, we only begin to see characters die; there are many more to come in the morbid second half.
While the movie is never uplifting, it is impossible not to be spellbound by some of the haunting sequences, most notably a brief but intense torture scene towards the end. The animated "Three Brothers" story is easily one of the best scenes in the entire Harry Potter series. Much like the anime sequence in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, it is rather risky but successful animated piece of the film. The action scenes in this one are also very well done, and possibly choreographed better than those of the other films. In Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the parts with action (although there are only a few, unfortunately) are snappy, suspenseful, and quick. Never once is it tiring to hear another "Expeliarmus!" shouted by Harry.
What is tiring, however, is the pacing in Deathly Hallows. Although Part 1 is obviously a build-up for the epically long battle of Part 2, the viewer may grow a little tired during the second act, a part of the movie that is mostly about slowing down the story to look at the psychological effects of the past seven years on the main characters. It is interesting, however, to see the strings of Ron, Harry, and Hermione's relationship coming undone. And were it not for strong character actors like Watson, Radcliffe, and Grint, the middle third may not have held up. Most of the movie plays like a taut political thriller, full of muggle intrigue and corruption, but sometimes it may movie a little fast for young viewers, although this is not necessarily a film to bring the young ones to see.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 presents some very good performances, realistic special effects, and complicated story arcs, some of which are compromised by a free-form plot structure. With the cliffhanger ending of Part 1, we move one film closer to leaving behind the beloved trio that Rowling started twelve years, an event that will be tearful for fans of all ages. Part 1 is the calm before the storm. And now for the storm...