Well, my last Harry Potter midnight release experience is behind me, and I think I'm finally ready to talk about it. I knew, going into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, that I was in for a roller coaster ride from beginning to end and, for the most part, Yates and company didn't disappoint. After the amazing job Yates did with Part 1, I was so sure that Part 2 would be just as good. While I enjoyed the film, and thought most of it was perfect, there was something missing for me. I think, as with the last film, I'll just make a running list of my observations. It probably goes without saying, but there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk. As usual, I have a lot to say, and I hope you enjoy it!
General Observations
Dumbledore's Backstory
I really wish they had decided to keep more of Dumbledore's backstory in the final film (well, the final two films, really). One of the things I liked about Harry's quest in the book was his attempt to figure Dumbledore out. Harry spent so much time obsessing over Dumbledore's past, his motivations, his intentions towards Harry, and, ultimately whether it actually mattered. I loved that, at the end, Harry basically threw away all his misgivings about Dumbledore and realized that destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes was his job, whether or not Dumbledore should have pushed him into the task or not.
We definitely got a glimpse of that in the film, but it was just a glimpse, not the full picture. When Harry tells Aberforth that he, Harry, trusted the Dumbledore that he knew, it just lacks the same emotional weight I got when reading the book. I feel like some of the details are lacking, and adding in a throwaway line or two about Ariana doesn't add up to the same impact that the book had.
Voldie and his Horcruxes
I don't know about you, but I liked the idea of Voldemort's soul being so damaged that he had no clue when his Horcruxes were destroyed. To me, that conveyed an image of a totally broken man, to not have any idea when bits of your soul are being destroyed. In the film, Voldemort's moments of realizations made for good dramatic tension, but I think it took something away from Rowling's commentary on just how torn a soul could be.
The Malfoys
I've been incredibly impressed with the performances by Helen McCrory, Jason Isaacs, and especially Tom Felton over the past three films. For Lucius and Narcissa, it's no longer about purebloods ruling Muggles and mudbloods; instead, they only care about staying on Voldemort's good side (or, at least, his not-being-murdered-horribly side) to preserve their lives. In short, they are Slytherins. McCrory and Isaacs do such and amazing job – McCrory's Narcissa worrying so deeply about her son that she lies to Voldemort in the Forbidden forest and Isaacs' Lucius looking haggard and careworn as he tries to make everything “as it was.”
But, above all, Tom Felton has blown me away. His Draco is perfect – arrogant, hateful, and offensive in the first five films to scared and helpless in Half-Blood Prince. In Deathly Hallows, Felton gives a wonderfully nuanced performance that really captures Rowling's Draco perfectly. Draco is in over his head – he might have meant what he said in Chamber of Secrets, but actually being a Death Eater was a bit more than Draco could handle. Couple that with being used as a pawn to punish Lucius for his failures, and you wind up with a scared young man that feels like he doesn't have any options. Tom Felton is brilliant. Period.
Shell Cottage
Griphook
I'm so, so glad that Warwick Davis finally got to act! He does such a great job as Griphook, both at Shell Cottage and in Gringotts. I think the filmmakers perfectly captured Griphook's simultaneous contempt for wizards in general and his dependence on Harry for survival.
Hallows v. Horcruxes
I thought it was interesting that Yates seemed to downplay the Hallows v. Horcruxes debate so much. For book-Harry, Shell Cottage was a turning point. If he questioned Griphook first, he would hunt Horcruxes; talking first to Ollivander meant he would chase Hallows. He, of course, comes to the relatively easy decision to go after Horcruxes, to continue chipping away at Voldemort's lifelines. However, movie-Harry doesn't seem to make a decision at all. For him , Horcruxes are always the primary goal.
I think that book-Harry's indecision and eventual choice are very telling about his character. To choose Horcruxes as his target is the brave way of self-sacrifice. Harry knows he must continue to risk life and limb to put Voldemort one step closer to death, that the remaining Horcruxes will not be easy to get, but he also knows the prize will be well worth the sacrifice. On the other hand, Harry could choose to go after the Hallows. To unite all three would make one master of death, and potentially preserve his life whilst hunting down the remaining Horcruxes. If Harry chose Hallows first, Voldemort's terrible rein of terror would continue a little longer, but, assuming he could unite the Hallows, Harry would be well-protected, both against Voldemort and against any future threats. In the end, a Gryffindor through and through, Harry chooses Horcruxes and self-sacrifice over Hallows and personal protection and glory. Difficult though I know it would have been to include, I wish this thought process would have been included in the film.
Ollivander
John Hurt is awesome, and quite haunting, really, as Ollivander. I did, however, think it was very interesting that they chose to use the Trio's interview with Ollivander as a “previously, on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” segment to re-introduce what the Hallows were (because, naturally, we've all forgotten a very major plot point from the first film by now).
Gringotts/Hogsmede
General Thoughts
In general, I liked this pair of scenes. The deviations from the text that existed didn't make all that much of a difference to me, since (as Yates has done so well before) the feel of the thing was captured so well. I felt the right amount of urgency in Gringotts and in the streets of Hogsmede, so why be bothered by some (relatively small) differences?
Helena Bonham Carter
Probably my favorite comedic moment from the film (possibly even the series), was Helena Bonham Carter's performance as Hermione/Bellatrix. The look on her face as she walks over the sand dunes at Shell Cottage is fantastic. That must have been so much fun to film!
Good thing Harry can hear Horcruxes!
I found myself thinking this several times during the film. That's right, Yates, perhaps you should have tried to include more of the Pensieve memories in Half-Blood Prince, so you wouldn't have to figure out a work-around to help Harry find the remaining Horcruxes. Oh, and apparently sentient Horcruxes can sense each other? Good thing Nagini didn't bother to mention this to Voldemort, or Harry would have been screwed.
Voldemort's Reaction
So I know Voldemort is super angry after finding out Harry's got his hands on Hufflepuff's cup, but oh my word, I could not believe how horrifying that scene was in the film. Yates pulled no punches, and I loved it.
Aberforth
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from Aberforth, so I don't know if I'm happy or not with how that whole business played out. It's not that it was bad or anything – Aberforth was gruff with the Trio, harbored obvious anger and resentment towards his brother, and, ultimately, gave Harry the help he needed – however much he begrudged giving it. I suppose this is one of those instances where I felt like the film was missing something. I don't know how it could have been better, necessarily; I just felt like it wasn't quite right.
Sirius' Mirror
There are a great many things in movie-Potter-world that the filmmakers ought to have included earlier on but chose not to. Many of these things actually turned out to be important (like Harry learning what the other Horcruxes were, for example), while others simply would have provided extra information (like Dumbledore's backstory). And, to be frank, we've been retconned a whole hell of a lot in the last several films. It's as if the writers/producers/powers that be said “Oopsie, we ought to have included Thing X three films ago. How can we get our plot to where it needs to go without providing appropriate context?”
Usually, these enormous leaps in intuition/knowledge (like learning Apparition, Harry hearing Horcruxes, and figuring out who RAB was) bother me, but most of the time, I can gloss over them as a necessary evil of adapting a large book series into films. But this mirror thing, I just can't get past it. So, we're led to believe that Harry – for some bizarre and unknown reason – picked up a shard of broken mirror from 12 Grimmauld Place, probably at some point during Order of the Phoenix (since he has it at the beginning of Deathly Hallows, and hasn't been back to OotP headquarters since before Sirius' death) and has been carrying it around for several years? And he intuitively understands what the mirror does and recognizes where it came from when he sees it in the Hog's Head? I don't really buy all of that.
Battle of Hogwarts
Harry / McGonagall Exchange
Somewhat surprisingly, one of my favorite parts of the book is the exchange between Harry and Professor McGonagall in the Ravenclaw common room. I love the way Harry defends his former Head of House, and I think his use of an Unforgivable Curse really underscores his transition from boy to man (because using the Cruciatus Curse shows Harry means business). I also love the pride McGonagall shows when she tells Carrow that Harry belongs in her house. While the film didn't include this exact scene, I think what they did choose to include captured a very similar feel. Especially McGonagall's typically curt-yet-emotion-laden “I missed you.”
Harry v. Snape
I thought it was very interesting that the filmmakers chose to include a confrontation between Harry and Snape within Hogwarts. By the time we get to the Battle of Hogwarts, we ought to understand that it's not about Harry facing anyone but Voldemort. All of the other things Harry goes through during Deathly Hallows are just to get to Voldemort. So, to some extent, these smaller confrontations don't really matter, since they're all leading up to the one fight that does matter. I think that's why Rowling didn't put in a confrontation between Harry and Snape in the novel. Why bother rehashing the whole “you killed Dumbledore, you bastard!” argument when she was that close to revealing the truth? Snape isn't the bad guy here – Voldemort is, so Rowling chooses to focus on the antagonist that matters.
I wonder, though, if the filmmakers were trying to make up for the lackluster Harry/Snape confrontation at the end of Half-Blood Prince (you know, where “Flight of the Prince” becomes “The Prince's Leisurely Stroll”). As much as I enjoyed that film, I felt they didn't focus enough on Harry's anger towards Snape (not to mention the part where they completely left out the “battle” aspect), and this may be their way of making up for that.
Why didn't they send underage students away?
The book made such a big deal of getting all underage wizards away from the castle before the battle began, I was surprised that the film doesn't even mention it. And there are a ton of underage students still milling about during the battle. I wonder if that's something that we're just supposed to assume happened, and the underage students at the battle were those that snuck back in (like the Creevy's). Either way, I thought it was interesting that it wasn't mentioned.
Plus, McGonagall and the other Heads of House gave their of-age students the choice to stay and fight or not. One of the major themes of the entire series is that it's our choices that make us who we are, not our preconditions. Giving those students the choice to fight or run was, I think, an important way to underscore this theme that we didn't get the chance to play out in the film. I will say , though, I loved the solidarity the Hogwarts student body showed when Snape was questioning them about Harry's presence in the castle. Not quite the same, but very poignant nonetheless.
Protecting Hogwarts
During both viewings, this definitely made me tear up. I loved all of the Order members and professors banding together to protect the castle against the Death Eaters. It has the perfect balance of true, touching emotion and humor – one of those scenes where you can't help crying and laughing at the same time.
Neville
Neville is amazing, end of story. I adored Matthew Lewis' performance, and I think they did an excellent job of truly capturing the spirit of Neville Longbottom. I have issues with some of the plot choices they made for Neville, but we'll come to that later.
Ron and Hermione
It's no secret that I don't care for Ron Weasley. However, I did like the way that Hermoine and Ron finally admitted their feelings to each other. While the film version was still cute (or, as cute as you can be when it involves Ron), I wish they had stayed truer to the book.
Fred's Death
Is it just me, or was being thisclose to Fred's death a big deal for Harry? Despite all of the horrible things Harry has witnessed, and all of the important and beloved people that have been taken from him by this war, Fred's death still hits him incredibly hard. I feel that not showing Fred's death cheats the audience in a way. We don't get the same experience – I don't think the shock-factor is the same just seeing Fred's body versus actually seeing his death. Additionally, I think that placing all of Harry's focus on Fred's body also takes something away from the deaths of Remus and Tonks. Then again, I think the filmmakers have shunted Remus and Tonks to the side for several films now, so it shouldn't be surprising that they do it again here.
The Prince's Tale
To put it simply, Alan Rickman broke my heart. His performance was utterly beautiful, completely deserving of as many acting accolades as he can get. Snape is not a character that we often see ruled by tender emotions. He routinely gives in to bouts of misplaced rage (Prisoner of Azkaban, for example), but we never get to see Snape show his softer side. Watching him lose control like that (especially with Lily's body in Godric's Hollow) is just so visceral and shocking. We've seen him angry, triumphant, and apathetic, but we've never seen Snape care so much.
I wish, of course, they had shown more, but what they did show was perfect. Except for the part where several people (who had seen the films only) were left with the impression that Snape was Harry's father. I have no idea where that might have come from, especially since the flashbacks feature Snape telling Dumbledore that Harry is “just like his father”, only mentioning James' negative characteristics.
The Forest Again
Harry's Reaction
I knew this scene wouldn't quite live up to Rowling's novel. There's something to be said for the emotional impact Rowling gives to Harry's realization that he must allow Voldemort to kill him. So many of her lines in the brief space between Harry emerging from the Pensieve and finding the Resurrection Stone tug at my heart and make me hurt just thinking about them. The film, honestly, was not as good as that, but I didn't expect it to be – at least for me. I identify more strongly with the written word than anything else, so I knew that Harry's reaction in the film wouldn't get to me in quite the same way. Dan Radcliffe did amazingly, as always, and my feeling of letdown during this scene is more a reflection of my personal preferences than the quality of the film.
The Resurrection Stone
I could not have asked the filmmakers to do this scene more perfectly. Out of everything that happens in the series, this one relatively short scene completely unhinges me. I can't read it without dissolving into tears. Hell, it's hard for me to talk about it without crying. Harry using James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus as his shield, as his strength is just so perfectly heartbreaking. He has been so, so brave, but when he has no more left in his tank – when all he wants to do is run away and hide – he turns to his departed love ones to find the courage left to continue. Every time I have read Deathly Hallows, this part has me sobbing. The first read-through, I had to put the book down and have myself a good cry – because I was actually crying too hard to see the page. The corresponding film scene did not disappoint. I had to try so hard not to sob uncontrollably in the theater both times. I loved it.
Teddy Freaking Lupin!
Why bother mentioning that Remus has a son? I mean, really, they've glossed over or ignored plenty of the finer points regarding Remus and Tonks for several films now. Besides, Teddy isn't even mentioned in the Epilogue, making Harry's mention of Teddy even more of a throwaway line.
Harry v. Voldie, Part 1
I was fairly happy with this penultimate confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. Since, of course, the point was that Harry willingly sacrificed himself, there weren't many ways they could have messed it up.
King's Cross
So, So Good
This is yet another one of those scenes where the differences that existed between the book and the film didn't matter. I know they omitted some things, and Dumbledore's explanations weren't exactly the same, but the scene had the same feel as the book, and that's what counts (in this case, anyway). Also, I loved the Voldie-baby-soul thing. It was gross, as it ought to be, and echoed perfectly the Volde-baby that Wormtail dropped into the cauldron in Goblet of Fire.
Michael Gambon!
I was, once again, thoroughly impressed with Michael Gambon's performance. Continuing his work in Half-Blood Prince, Gambon was the perfect Dumbledore. And, while I've greatly enjoyed this much improved version of Gambon, it makes me sad that we couldn't have had these great performances from him all along.
The Final Battle
What. The. Hell. Yates.
David Yates, I've trusted you. You've led me through an increasingly complicated and intricate plot and, for the most part, not made too many wrong moves. I've let you take me on the final steps of Harry's journey, and I've been pretty happy with what you produced. But, honestly, what the hell were you thinking, letting the end of the franchise play out like that? Why would you move so far away from JK Rowling's amazing plot and give us the equivalent of a Michael Bay action flick?
It wouldn't bother me so much if the rest of the movie wasn't so damn amazing. For me, the film really drops off as soon as Harry comes back from King's Cross. I didn't get the right emotions, the right feel of the thing. I was so focused on all of the differences – that seemed completely pointless to me – that I couldn't focus on experiencing the film the way I'm sure Yates intended. And (just like with Sirius' death in Order of the Phoenix), I feel that Yates took something away from me. I'll never get the chance to experience the end of the final Harry Potter film in a purely emotional way, because I'm too focused on what they got wrong. And I'm horribly disappointed because of it.
Neville v. Voldie
You know, despite all of the things that went very wrong with the end of this film, I kind of liked the confrontation between Neville and Voldemort. I loved that Neville stood up for himself – proved himself a true Gryffindor – and for all of wizard-kind, in a way, by telling Voldemort that they would not back down. Neville has gone on an incredible journey over the course of the series, and he finally comes into his own in Deathly Hallows.
But, David Yates, why couldn't Neville have just sliced Nagini's head off right there? Did we really need to add more action to this movie? Why did we need to add an extra Battle of Hogwarts? So frustrating!
Molly Weasley
I'm not a huge Molly Weasley fan, but I must say that her showdown with Bellatrix is a wonderful moment, in the series as a whole and for Molly as a character. This was a moment where the audience should have been cheering Molly on (as has happened at similarly defining moments at other midnight releases). Instead, it happened so fast, and without the required force, that I don't think half the people in our theater had time to react. Also, what was with Bellatrix melting – or whatever it was that she did? Isn't Avada kedavra good enough anymore?
Harry v. Voldie, Part 2
This is one of those moments when I just cannot fathom why the filmmakers would have deviated from Rowling's novel. At so many points throughout the film series, they take dialogue directly from the source material because, honestly, how can they say it better than JKR? She's the one who thought all of this freaking stuff up in the first place – mightn't her source material give us a clue as to how the rest ought to play out?
But no, for whatever reason, Yates and company decided to go with...well...a very action-oriented approach. This final confrontation – the ultimate good versus evil showdown – is not supposed to be physical. It's not about who's got more strength or magical ability; the point is that Harry has chosen the right path and Voldemort has chosen poorly. You don't need to add in any kind of physical battle between Harry and Voldemort – it's supposed to be a tense verbal confrontation, and we don't get any of that. Instead, we get a jaunty flight around the castle, culminating in a major anti-climax.
Harry is supposed to give Voldemort a choice – it's not too late for Voldemort to redeem himself, and Harry knows that. In a series that's all about choices, it's sad that Yates took that final choice away from the antagonist. But Harry also knows something else that Voldemort doesn't, something else that Voldemort can't hope to understand – love. Harry threw himself in death's path out of love. He knew it was his duty to die, in order for Voldemort to one day be defeated. That love, the same thing that protected Harry from Voldemort's curse the first time, is so important to the series, and I don't think Harry properly communicated that to Voldemort. Overall, poor way to end a really terrific series.
Epilogue
I'm not really sure how to feel about the Epilogue. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really see the point of it either. In general, the Epilogue leaves me feeling “meh”, but not because I thought it was poorly done – I'm just not a big epilogue fan in general.
Well, dear reader, thank you for suffering through my longest blog entry to date. I hope I didn't scare you away yet...
Mischief Managed,
Slim Pearl Silver-Feather
Currently reading: The Valley of Horses, Jean M. Auel (because apparently the theme of my 2011 reading list is series)
Books read in 2011: 21
Up next: I'm not completely sure. I'd like to do a reaction piece on The Dark Tower, and then I'll go back and work on those character blogs.
