Coming of rage

It's a shame we're so near the end of the Harry Potter series, as each film continues to prove better than the last (as least since director David Yates took over the franchise with 2007's Order of the Phoenix). Though clearly motivated by commercial concerns, Warner Bros.' decision to split the final book into two parts allows fans to milk the series for all its cinematic worth. Would that the resultant narrative for Deathly Hallows: Part 1 didn't feel so artificially truncated.

The plot - as I need hardly recount for aficionados - finds Harry, Ron and Hermione traveling as fugitives in search of the remaining Horcruxes (magical objects imbued with fragments of Lord Voldemort's soul) in order to destroy them in the hope that this will render the Dark Lord vulnerable to attack.

The film is more violent than previous installments (the series becomes progressively darker and deadlier as it goes along), and several key characters meet their ends.

Following Dumbledore's death at the conclusion of 2009's Half-Blood Prince and Voldemort's subsequent return to power, life has become rife with fascist politicking and pre-emptive attacks on the innocent and guilty alike in something like a children's story version of events in Nazi-occupied territories in the Second World War in the early 1940s. A stout resistance has sprung up (or rather sprung into action after careful preparation), but the lives of everyday witches and wizards are beset with informants, paranoia and persecution.

As the central trio wanders the wizarding world on their desperate quest, they suffer privation, frustration and, eventually, interpersonal conflicts that threaten to break up their friendship. Countless comparisons between J.K. Rowling's books and other fantasy classics have been made over the years, but to point out that a storyline featuring a near hopeless trek through wilds (complete with a burdensome magical object that saps the protagonists' spirit of warmth and good will) is lifted part and parcel from The Lord of the Rings is unavoidable.

This is not to say that Rowling deserves to be criticized - far from it. The only real downside of this theft is that it tries the ability of audience members familiar with both series (virtually everyone, at this point) to forget everything will end happily in the end, regardless of how grim the situation appears.

As with the rest of the series, the cast in Part 1 is extraordinary. The sheer volume of high caliber actors (largely English) makes it easy to miss the fine work on hand. Because everyone is so good, it's difficult for any single performance to stand out. Nevertheless, a few do.

Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint as Harry and Ron prove they're far more than aging child actors who lucked into a lucrative extended series of films. Emma Watson as Hermione has finally mastered her tendency to overact, allowing her winsomeness and intelligence to shine through untarnished by histrionics. Helena Bonham Carter is deliciously malevolent as Bellatrix Lestrange, Ralph Fiennes thoroughly inhabits the role of Voldemort, and Alan Rickman continues to steal scenes (and this, amid such a talented ensemble) as Severus Snape. Though enjoying precious little screen time, James and Oliver Phelps exhibit excellent comedic timing as Fred and George Weasley.

As for the direction, critics and fans seem to have reached a consensus for once in generally agreeing that Yates is the best director in a very talented bunch. With 2004's Prisoner of Azkaban, Alfonso Cuarón transformed the franchise from kid's stuff to emotionally potent drama, and Mike Newell smashed box-office records with 2005's Goblet of Fire. However, Yates has proved uniquely well-equipped to balance good moviemaking with fidelity to Rowling's characters and plotting.

The rushed release date for Part 2 (July 15) should mitigate any frustration resulting from an ending that leaves Part 1 feeling like an extraordinary extended trailer. Anyone seriously interested in the Harry Potter phenomenon will have read the novels long ago anyway, so it's not as though there are too many rabid fans out there who will be wringing their hands puzzling over the fates of Harry Potter and his friends.

James Walling can be reached at
jwalling@praguepost.com