Half of a masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2010)

There is a pervading sense of doom in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. A dark pall is cast over the entire production; even the opening Warner Brother's logo begins to crackle and rust. Harry and his chums encounter their most trying hardships and are forced to face numerous deaths. For a children's fantasy, the first leg of the final chapter shaped up to be fairly dark, and that's hardly a fault. This is the path that all of the other Potter films have led up to, lending the doom a sense of importance. The doom must be there to make the ultimate ending worthwhile.
Yet for all the death and destruction, Deathly Hallows never shies away from moments of touching levity. The film allows the major players moments of tender interaction and light comedy. The fact that these bits actually succeed is a testament to the greatly improved abilities of the three principle actors. Director David Yates has broken from the typical Potter tradition of stately, big budget directorial technique and has thrown in splashes of a more kinetic style with a few well-placed, subtle moments of hand-held photography that make Deathly Hallows seem fresher than a few of its predecessors.
Another first: a completely animated sequence. It is an audacious move and it pays dividends. The sequence (detailing the story of the titular Deathly Hallows) is among the finest moments the series has to offer. It is a frightening and beautiful mixture of shadow-play and stop-motion.
One of the film's major assets is its rouge's gallery of uniformly detestable villains. I can think of few characters or actors that can generate the vitriolic response I have when seeing Imelda Staunton in the role of Dolores Umbridge. Joining her are the usual suspects: Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius and Draco Malfoy. These baddies add a real sense of purpose to the proceedings; evil seems to emanate from their very cores.
Yet, to the film's key strength is its acknowledgment of the previous chapters. I felt twinges of melancholy while watching Harry look at his old bedroom below the stairs of the house on Privet Drive, and that speaks to the series' successful attempts at fleshing out the inner lives of these characters and this world. For a major blockbuster, this is a fairly emotional ride.
Deathly Hollows, however, is not without imperfections. The tail end of the second act is a bit saggy, and some of the character behaviors seem contrived. I'm looking at you, Ron Weasley. Also, the film seems to be in a state of perpetual build up to part two. As such, I cannot adequately comment on where I'd place it in relation to the other films. But, as it stands, Deathly Hallows is poised to become the crowning jewel of an already distinguished series of films.