Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Hope verb \ˈhōp\ - to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true.-Merriam-Webster DictionaryYou hope for the things you don’t have. You can’t hope for love, joy, friendship, and safety when you have them. You can only hope for what you don’t have. Hope is not found in times of fulfillment and joy, but rather in darkness, despair and discontent. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I is a film about hope, and as such, it is consistently dark and bleak as it pushes its characters to the edge of their limits. Yet even during the darkest of times it allows its characters the ability to hope. This success makes it not only the best in the series, but also one of the greatest cinematic feats of the past decade.The Deathly Hallows Part I comes seventh in what might be the most famous film series of this generation. After a revolving door of directors, David Yates picked up the series from The Order of the Phoenix and on, and has done a phenomenal job of putting the darker elements of the books on display. It may come as a surprise to many readers to see J.K. Rowling listed as a producer – the person ultimately in charge of both the business and creative aspects of the film. It’s great to see an author take such an active role in a film, and it certainly has an excellent payoff in the first part of Harry and the gang’s final adventure.Within the first five minutes of the film, two fan favorites are pushed to their limits. Thus far, no Harry Potter movie had taken the audience to such an extreme place of despair so quickly. Of course, with great risk comes great reward, and the Deathly Hallows Part I is full of reward. While Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint do a great job supporting Watson, she is truly the focus of this film. I won’t ruin anything, but I can say that Watson effectively uses a wide range of emotions early and often. While Harry and Ron appropriately lose their minds through various points in the film, Hermione works as the glue that holds the whole thing together. While this can be seen earlier on in the series, it is not done as effectively and as potently as in the Deathly Hallows Part I.The film also succeeds in capturing darkness and hope in its cinematography. This film is dreary and bleak throughout, and yet it is mysterious and beautiful at all time. This can be seen pouring out of the cinematography and is extremely effective in emphasizing the tone and message of the film. And I won’t spoil the hopeful moments for you, but I will say it’s worth the crap Harry, Ron, and Hermione are put through. Between all this, an excellent supporting cast, and a more than experienced crew, The Deathly Hallow Part I takes this series to the next level!All this isn’t to say that the movie is perfect. There are a few minor flaws. Although the last book was split into two films – which paid off artistically despite its financial motivations – the writers didn’t find time really honor all the great minor characters in the series. Hagrid, in particular, was given just one line of dialogue that, which despite Robbie Coltrane’s best effort, didn’t amount to much more than a giant piece of corn.While it was great seeing the film hone in on the main trio, it was a shame to see such a wonderful supporting cast of characters wasted. Another disappointment was seeing Ginny built up as Harry’s love interest in the first third of the film, only to be dropped for the entirety of the second and third acts. This ultimately paid off, as it allowed Harry and Hermione to explore their friendship more fully, but it still would have been cool to see all of Harry and Ginny’s sexual tension go somewhere.Despite a lack of screen time for its great supporting cast, The Deathly Hallows Part I is nothing short of phenomenal in capturing hope amongst darkness and showing that this film series has grown up with its horde of followers and reluctant protagonists. To put it bluntly, this is an adult film. This film feels more like the Bourne Trilogy, the Dark Knight Trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes or Skyfall than a movie based on a fantasy book series for kids, and that change in tone and style work perfectly.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I isn’t just a film for Harry Potter fans. If you just love great films, here you are! The Deathly Hallows Part I is an incredible cinematic experience that reminds audiences that there is always hope amongst the darkness, as well as reward in taking great risks.

With this next to last installment of the Harry Potter series, we have the beginnings of a major, but logical, turn of events. Deathly Hallows Part 1 leads us into that final reckoning with Voldemort that we all know has been coming, and, as such, a much darker take on that inevitability. All previous movies have really been about the training necessary to confront the boss; mere rehearsals for the final showdown. With these final two installments we get to the real heart of the matter and it must be darker. No, Hallows Part 1 (and for that matter Part 2 as well) are not as much fun as the previous movies. This one's getting much more serious, as it should. These movies are so superbly crafted and executed that they are a testament to the near reverence held for the source material by Rowling. The directors have done an amazing job bringing Rowling's books to life in a way that truly reflects their spirit. Needless to say it's also a testament to the wondrous descriptive writings of Rowling which enabled this to happen in the first place.Also, as a movie, we watch as the character relationships between Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginger come to fruition. The acting by all concerned in these films has been a delight to watch.I have only one negative, and that has to do with the 3D version of the film: it comes across as way too dark. When I watch the 2D Blueray version, it looks great, but for some reason, 3D is not nearly as enjoyable because of that darkness. I attempted to find some way to lighten it up, but couldn't figure it out. My other 3D films, such as Avatar or Life of Pi, etc don't have this problem, so I am wondering if it was simply a case of this particular version of the Deathly Hallows that has this issue. Part 2 has the same problem in 3D. I will continue to investigate and see if there is any solution to this. BTW: I have a 60" LG "smart" 3D tv. I have had no other issues at all with other 3D films with this set.If you are a fan of the whole Harry Potter experience, Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a must and is yet another very worthy work of art in that franchise. Obviously, if you are not a fan, then there is probably little here that will compel you to seek it out. It is part of a piece and an essential component of the whole.