Boy wizard faces first part of final challenge

Harry and Hermione contemplate the future in "Deathly Hallows, Part I"
(Image: Cinenthusiast)

I cannot emphasise enough my relief that the latest and penultimate "Harry Potter" installment, "Deathly Hallows, Part I", is a resounding success. Instead of chopping the book up and discarding key scenes and events, director David Yates and company opted to rather tell as much of the full story as possible and to split the final film into two parts. I concede that the economic imperative at play was a certain factor in this decision, but at least it's a decision to the benefit of the franchise's fans, among whom I count myself.

As an avowed fan who suffered disappointment with the abbreviated "Order of the Phoenix" and felt only marginal improvement with "Half Blood Prince", I am relieved that "Deathly Hallows, Part I" is the best boy wizard adventure since Cuaron's near definitive "Prisoner of Azkaban" years ago. It's as if Yates had taken the best storytelling techniques of the previous titles and added it all to "Deathly Hallows". Consider the breathtaking sequence where Hermione reads a classic story from "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", and, in a possible nod to Del Toro, the whole story comes to life in vividly stylised animation.  

It's become a bit of a cliche to call serious-minded adventure and fantasy movies "dark", but it's an ideal and accurate adjective for this film on all levels. The characters have matured a lot, which provides their trials with greater emotional depth, and as the events in the story took a turn for the serious, the film became visually darker and scarier. "Deathly Hallows, Part I" is the darkest Potter yet, and not a bit of it feels forced. If you've read this far, you don't really need me to tell you what happens in this seventh film. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), assisted by his longtime friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) are up against Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), who is gradually taking control of the wizarding world. They face numerous challenges, not least the dangers to loved ones.

The film's tagline is "Nowhere is Safe", and indeed, there is but a single throwaway reference to Hogwarts. Gone are the hallways and corridors, the shifting stairways and vocal paintings; the absence of the comforts of the familiar are felt by the characters and the viewers. The air of innocence and excitement established by Chris Columbus in the first two films has made way for tangible threat and danger. To amplify the general feeling of distress that pervades the film, "Deathly Hallows, Part I" is book-ended by notions of death and demise.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I" feels much shorter than its 140 minutes, and I'd love to eventually watch it back to back with "Part II". The boy may have lived, but triumph will not follow without sacrifice.