I really
enjoy both parts of The Deathly Hallows.
Despite splitting the last book into two movies, there’s a ton of stuff left
out, but the films still convey the overall story well and manage to be a fine
pair of movies to boot (spoilers.)
First
off, props to these movies for handling the mess The Half-Blood Prince left them to deal with. The previous movie
gave the two Deathly Hallows films
basically nothing to work with in terms of the trio hunting Horcruxes, but damn
if the films don’t do the work to make it all hold together. Not to mention,
Part 2 does a good job really making me feel for the deaths of Tonks and Lupin
– since neither of them have anything worthwhile to do after their introductory
films and Tonks barely gets a chance to be a character at all, injecting their
deaths with so much earnest pathos that doesn’t just coast on the good will of
their book characters is no small feat.
For me,
tying up those loose ends that got dropped in earlier movies makes up for some
of the plot threads that don’t get included here, like most of the stuff about
Dumbledore’s past. There’s plenty of smaller details, world-building stuff, and
character moments that don’t make the cut (personally, I wish we could’ve got a
bit of the secret radio station, and I’d have liked more about Harry’s growing
obsession with the Hallows,) but the films don’t feel all that cut up as you’re
watching them. It mostly hangs together quite well.
One thing
I will point out, though, is that I wish they’d kept the explanation of how the
Death Eaters can detect/locate anyone using Voldemort’s name. It’s pretty
obvious that such a scene was originally in one of the films, since 1) the trio
is initially perplexed at how the Death Eaters find them in the café, 2) they
eventually switch to calling Voldemort “You-Know-Who,” and 3) there’s the big
dramatic moment where Xenophilius Lovegood calls the Death Eaters by saying,
“Voldemort.” But without the actual explanation of the spell, you need book
knowledge to put those things together.
Part 1
does an especially nice job keeping the plot moving. What felt like endless
chapters of the trio camping and bickering in the book is accomplished in a few
montages and a handful of well-chosen scenes. (Montages that feel appropriately
cinematic, I should point out – not like The
Order of the Phoenix, where some of the montages blatantly feel like
transparent attempts to cram 7-8 chapters into 20 seconds.) The emotional
throughlines of the main characters carry us along, and the significant
scenes/set pieces crop up just often enough to keep things from ever feeling
too slow.
Most of
the big moments from the book are given their due in the films. Particular standouts
are the trio sneaking into the Ministry of Magic, “The Tale of the Three
Brothers,” the Prince’s tale, and the Resurrection Stone scene. Re: the last
two, both of those scenes in Part 2 really hit me in ways they don’t in the
book. When I’m watching Part 2, I almost inevitably cry when either of those
scenes come on.
I also
think both films are a little like The
Prisoner of Azkaban in that they include some great scenes that deviate
from the book. It’s a small moment, but I really love Harry dancing with
Hermione to cheer her up after Ron leaves in Part 1 – a fabulous, sweet display
of their friendship. And man, does Neville get to come through towards the end
of Part 2! I know the same basics happen in both the book and the movie, but I
just adore the scene of him standing up to Voldemort and vowing to keep
fighting, even though everyone thinks Harry has been killed.
Finally,
we’ve gotta talk casting. Rhys Ifans is excellent as Xenophilius Lovegood, just
knocking it out of the park in his scenes. Bill Nighy only makes a brief
appearance as Rufus Scrimgeour, but he conveys the feel of the character with
limited screentime. And even though Part 2 plays the scene between Harry and
the Grey Lady very differently than the book does, I really like Kelly Macdonald’s
performance as the film’s version of the character.
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