A lengthy introduction to something else

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2011)

Unlike the other six novels in the Harry Potter series "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is being filmed in two parts of which this is the first, Part Two being slated for release in July 2011. The reason for this is that J. K. Rowling's last Potter novel is a long and complex one and that to film it all in one go would either result in a movie of insane length or involve omitting many scenes and details from the book, something which Potter anoraks would never forgive. (The film-makers took plenty of flak for altering some of Rowling's plot details in the earlier instalments).
It has become a commonplace to remark that the Potter series has been getting progressively "darker", both literally and metaphorically, ever since the third episode, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", and "Deathly Hallows" continues this trend. The plot is a complex one, concentrating on the efforts of Harry, Ron and Hermione to I will not attempt to summarise it here2010/2011 two-part epic fantasy film to find and destroy the Horcruxes, magical objects which hold Voldemort's secret of immortality. The Deathly Hallows of the title are three other magical objects which play an important part in the plot.
This film is the first in the series not to be set in Hogwarts School (although we learn that Severus Snape is the new headmaster). Since the death of Albus Dumbledore at the end of the sixth film, there has been a revolution in the wizarding world. Lord Voldemort and his supporters, the Death Eaters, have taken control of the Ministry of Magic and are using their new-found power to impose a quasi-Nazi dictatorship and to persecute Muggle-born or mixed-blood wizards. Whereas the atmosphere of the earlier instalments, especially those directed by Chris Columbus, resembled that of the traditional British boarding school story with added magical elements, parts of "Deathly Hallows" are closer to Orwell's "1984" or similar dystopian satires.
"Deathly Hallows Part 1" is not my favourite of the Harry Potter series; I certainly did not enjoy it as much as the previous entry, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". The acting is as good as ever, well up to the normal standards of the series, but the character of Albus Dumbledore was sadly missed. (He died at the end of "Half-Blood Prince"). Whether played by Richard Harris or Michael Gambon, Dumbledore functioned as a source of wisdom and authority, the moral anchor of the series, and his absence from this film means that something feels lacking. The decision to film the novel in two parts does not seem to have come off, at least as far as Part 1 is concerned. Whereas all the earlier films ended with a satisfying resolution, this one comes to a rather abrupt close, leaving the plot hanging in mid-air. For all its length (nearly 2 1/2 hours), "Deathly Hallows Part 1" feels less like a film in its own right than an introduction to another film which will not be released for another few months. We can only hope that part 2 will be better. 6/10