Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One marks the beginning of an end for the Potter franchise, which has dominated popular culture for well more than a decade. Although the previous films have not been disasters by any means, seeing this seventh installment makes its predecessors fall - with an audible thump - by the wayside. Those behind the Harry Potter series have at last learned how to make a brilliant movie.
One success of this film was the subtle dichotomy between light and dark. Even at the most dark of times, there were elegant reminders that the world was not at its end just yet. The penultimate scene in Malfoy Manor is a prime example. While Hermione (Emma Watson) is being tortured, her screams carry down to the basement where Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) are imprisoned, Luna, true to character, utters another delightfully quirky one-liner that had moviegoers chuckling in their seats.
That is not to say every dark moment was alleviated by humor. Director David Yates did a brilliant job of keeping the right moments gloomy and at times thoroughly creepy. Harry and Hermione's detour to Godric's Hallow offered up a smorgasbord of fright, but the action in that scene and others like it was tasteful - not gory or overly violent, but enough to shake up the audience.
And then there were the many unexpected but enjoyable moments. "The Tale of the Three Brothers," read by Watson, was illustrated gracefully through animation that was unanticipated but also downright cool. Equally well done were the several montages that helped each plot point segue to the next - images of the Hogwarts Express, the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley provided context and a window to the outside world, away from the three main characters. And rather than fall back on the overused and too recognizable Harry Potter theme song, the soundtrack ranged from "Lord of the Rings"-esque pounding percussion sequences to sweeping melodies that matched the gorgeous vistas of the countryside.
More so than the movies, the principal actors displayed monumental improvement. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson no longer gave off the impression of three lookalikes who happened to wander onto the set; the emotion portrayed by each no longer seemed at all contrived. The greatest improvement came from Grint, who was far from the hulking, occasionally witty sidekick of the past. As an actor, he mirrored his character's eagerness to step out of Harry's shadow. Then, when Grint and Radcliffe engaged in a tension-fraught shouting match, both Ron and his portrayer came into their own.
Having reread, listened to and thought about the book for the past three years, I might have endured two-and-a-quarter hours of plain storytelling that I knew by heart. Instead I was pleasantly surprised and entertained by the innovations, surprises and pure skill presented to me throughout the film. One complaint: I don't want to wait eight months for the next one. Accio, July!
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