Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Review by Amy Parnham

Imagine terms such as broomstick and Polyjuice. Wands, house elves and lightning scars. Think Harry Potter. It’s been ten years since three children, within touching distance of their teenage years, boarded the Hogwarts Express and sent themselves on the journey of a lifetime. A journey taken by the characters, cast, crew, audiences and author JK Rowling. Now, ten years on, we prepare ourselves for that journey to end, as actor Daniel Radcliffe hangs up his invisibility cloak for the final time. But all is not lost yet, as part one of the Deathly Hallows was released in November, we still have to endure the wait for part two in 2011, and it promises to be darker than ever.

Over the years we have witnessed the growing friendship of trio Harry, Ron and Hermione, blossoming into young adults. The Deathly Hallows tests this friendship to its maximum as they are thrown out into the big wide world, and the tagline “nowhere is safe” is really brought into perspective. Due to the Dark Lord growing in power, the three teenagers set off on an adventure out of their Hogwarts comfort zone, in order to find horcruxes- pieces of Lord Voldemort’s soul hidden in objects which could be absolutely anywhere in the world. Without the help of their late headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, they feel lost and must rely on one another for support. The bond between these three people does not even need to be acted, as it is obvious to everyone that actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are more like brothers and sister, after spending ten years with each other. 

Some might say that part one is not as fast paced or as dark as the upcoming finale, however I did not see how this was true. The three teenagers are on the run, with danger around every corner, be it death eaters, snatchers or Lord Voldemort himself, and they can trust no one but themselves. Despite the strong bond of friendship, Harry and Ron find themselves in a fight, largely because of the fact that the horcrux Ron is wearing causes him to become vile tongued. This leads to Ron leaving Harry and Hermione alone. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, Hermione is upset, as she secretly cares for Ron very much. I believe the consequent aftermath of these actions leads to one of the best scenes in the film, interestingly not part of the book itself. A dance between Harry and Hermione, as he tries to cheer her up, almost leads us into believing that the two are about to kiss. This is a beautifully constructed scene that I believe fans of Harry Potter will adore, as much as Harry and Hermione adore one another.

We see a great deal of Lord Voldemort and his followers, known as Death eaters throughout this film. With his bone chilling voice, and slits for nostrils, Ralph Fiennes really does portray the ultimate evil villain, which will either enthral children, or quite simply terrify them. Don’t be fooled however, director David Yates does not allow the film to be taken away from it’s roots of a family audience, as we see well loved characters such as house elves Dobby and Kreacher re appear before our eyes. Of course, as the films have become older, so have the original fans and so this allows for the crew and author JK Rowling to emphasise the progressing darkness of the books and films, without them needing to be above a rating of twelve years. This has been created with such care and consideration that the mixture is perfect- like magic even. The film is long in length, running for two and a half hours, however I was shocked as the time flew by, and before I knew it the credits were rolling. You really do know you’ve seen a good film when you are grasped by it from beginning to end, and I could immediately have gone onto watching part two. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait several months before we finally say goodbye to the story of one wizard boy that has gripped the nation for a decade. To say goodbye to beloved characters, and be faced with a severe and intense war of good and evil. To say goodbye to a phenomenon that I’m sure will live on for decades to come.