Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

So, this is the beginning of the end. There was some degree of excitement from Harry Potter fans when it was announced that the seventh and final novel in the series would be adapted into not one but two films. Seven books, eight films. That's a pretty good deal, huh? The official reasoning behind it was that very little from the book could be cut out as it had the job of tying up all of the previous six films. The unofficial reasoning was probably that they just wanted to squeeze as much money as possible out of the franchise before finisihing it. I know, I know... I'm a cynic. Apparently you can't make four hour films anymore because they're just not profitable enough.

• This is it, the epic to end them all, so just to remind us of this the film kicks off with a death or two - including the offscreen demise of at least one major supporting character. It's all very dark and grim.
• Say what you like about J. K. Rowling, but it's pretty clear her series was extremely well-planned from start to finish. The emergence of the backstories of both Voldemort and Dumbledore begin to tie certain things together in a very satisfying way. Some answers are provided to questions that I hadn't even initially though to ask. Maybe the writers of Lost should've read Harry Potter.
• It feels strange for the main characters to be away from Hogwarts (one of the byproducts of the book being split into two films means that they're away from the school for the entirety of this film). Instead they go out and have 'adventures' in the real world, and it feels more dangerous than ever. There's a certain heightened realism as a result. The scenes set in the countryside have an authenticity that feels almost alien to the Harry Potter franchise... for example, the sequence where Harry and Hermione dance together in their tent feels more like it's out of an indie coming-of-age film.
  
• This realism is also reflected by the fact that Ron, Hermione and Harry have all become young adults now. The time for goofy cameraderie has gone, and there are one or two moments (such as Ron hallucinating about the coupling of Harry and Hermione) that tap into darker ideas relating to maturity and insecurity.
• Someone's cottoned on that cartoonish CGI just doesn't cut it in a film of this calibre - the visual effects are lot more seamless after the last few films.
• There's a moving scene near the beginning where Hermione uses the obliviate spell to erase the minds of her parents in order to protect them. It's nice that we get to see this, as it's not really featured in the book (simply because the books take place purely from the perspective of Harry). It's a shame that we don't get to see more scenes of Hermione and Ron without Harry, as they're generally more interesting (and believable) than our man Potter.
• Daniel Radcliffe suffers from cute kid/awkward-looking adult syndrome. He has an odd shaped head and a bit of a touch of the Elijah Woods about him.
• There's a couple of new characters portrayed by Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans but they don't really get much screentime so neither actor gets a chance to make much of a impact. I was impressed more by Helena Bonham-Carter and Jason Isaacs in the ways they pushed their characters a bit more to the wire. In contrast to his cold portrayal in previous films, Isaacs is surprisingly effective in garnering some sympathy as the cowering Lucius Malfoy.
• There's a brilliant and unexpected part of the film that uses traditional shadow puppet-inspired animation to portray the story of the three brothers and the deathly hallows, as narrated by Emma Watson. It's actually the highlight of this particular movie, and shows a level of creativity not encountered elsewhere in the series.

Unfortunately, as much as I would enjoy watching these characters do anything, David Yates just isn't able to sustain prolonged action and momentum in the same way that some of the other directors in the series have. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 suffers too much from feeling like half of a film. I'm not sure it was the best idea to split the story into two parts as the first part feels too much like it's stalling before the big finish of the second part. It's structured less like a self-contained film and more like a prequel or a chapter in a much bigger story. Having said that though, there are a few crowning moments of glory (such as the animated sequence and the growing maturity of the teenage performers). Some of the camera work is more mature too, such as the use of shaky high-definition handheld cameras to capture chase sequences in the woods... it feels visceral and adrenalin-packed, a real far cry from the cartoonish theatrics of the earliest films.

DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the book by J. K. Rowling.
KEY ACTORS: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, David Bradley, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Rhys Ifans, Helen McCrory, Bill Nighy, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Bonnie Wright, Matthew Lewis, Mark Williams, David Thewlis, Natalie Tena, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Clemence Poesy, John Hurt, Toby Jones

RELATED TEXTS:
- The novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
- The other films in this series are; Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects.
BAFTAs - nominated for Best Make-Up and Best Special Visual Effects.