Harry Potter and the Very Critical Blogger

I never thought I’d say this, but I actually enjoyed the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows better than the second. I didn’t think I’d say that because pretty much nothing happens during the former, and pretty much everything happens during the latter. Even more surprising, although often I find the things I dislike about the Harry Potter movies are things I dislike about the Harry Potter books, I felt like parts of this movie as a movie didn’t quite satisfy my expectations.

And let’s be honest: when it comes to movie adaptations of books, and of the Harry Potter series in particular, I’m a cynic. I don’t care how much the adapters change as long as all the changes are for the better. In that respect, my expectations are pretty low.

I should start by saying that obviously I still found the movie entertaining (thanks, ML, for inviting me to see it!). It’s fun to watch the actors run around in their wizard costumes and insane hairstyles yelling pretend Latin at each other in accents that are different from my own as things blow up in showers of CGI sparks. I like that.

And I won’t pretend that a lot of what I found unsatisfying about this movie was still stuff I found unsatisfying about the book: lack of confrontation between Harry and a major antagonist. Themes that make my stomach twist. An saccharine epilogue (now extra-creepy with actors made-up to look older than they actually are! Apparently the Hogwarts Express is taking an extra stop in the Uncanny Valley).

Finally, there was plenty about the adaptation that I liked, a lot. I was glad that the moviemakers made sure all the important points hit home — no mistaking who’s died in the final battle, no confusion over how the baddies bite the dust (well, more “turn into” the dust than bite it, but you get the idea). I liked that Neville had a brilliant moment facing off against Voldemort near the end, and that the Malfoys chose the course of action they did. And I loved how the filmmakers used the medium to emphasize, um, the results of Snape’s final meeting with Voldemort, to make what happens one of the most viscerally charged moments of the movie without actually showing anything. I loved how the audience comes away remembering exactly what happened without seeing it.

However.

To my surprise, although I came into this movie optimistic, based on the skill of the previous adaptations, I found myself disappointed in what the filmmakers chose to leave in, take out, and add. Furthermore, I felt that some of the ways the filmmakers decided to express what ought to have been unique and exciting moments from the mind of J. K. Rowling drew too heavily on iconic images from other movies with similar themes.

For example, the opening shot of Hogwarts students marching across the courtyard à la Hitler Youth while an ambiguously emotional Snape looks over the scene made me groan. Seriously? That visual cliché? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that the filmmakers wanted to get across a large amount of information in a short amount of time, and that borrowing a familiar set-up from Nazi and Holocaust films is an effective way to do it. But the Harry Potter series comes with its own original iconography — the Sorting Hat, lightning-bolt scars, blasts of light from a wand, the colours and trappings of all four houses. Surely we could have seen just as quick a flash of something that would have made me catch my breath instead of making a disinterested voice in the back of my head go, “Right, Nazis. Gotcha. Next?”

If this were any other movie (or if it were based on any other book), I’d also have some problems with the way the filmmakers handled the exposition. At points, it felt like what the bad guys were actually blowing up were infodumps that spattered the entire rest of the movie with random bits of information. This late in the game, I don’t want to be learning any new rules! Especially not by having someone straight up tell me in an unmotivated this-is-so-you-will-understand scene — if I have to learn about the Resurrection Stone or wand lore, and there’s no way it could have been in the previous instalments, at least put it into an action scene. Let me see the consequences. Let me pick up these rules myself.

I do understand this to be an artefact of the books and the way the movies began production before the series was finished, and I don’t blame the filmmakers for not better setting up things like wand lore or the Deathly Hallows, since those choices were made by J. K. Rowling. And I liked the way that once wand lore was introduced, they leaned on it consistently throughout the film, reworking characters’ motivations and actions to emphasize the point. In addition, I appreciate the way some otherwise interesting information (why the goblins want the sword of Gryffindor; most of the details of the Prince’s Tale; all the Dumbledore stuff) was cut for the flow of the movie and the way scenes that were exposition in the book were replaced with dramatizations (Ron and Hermione’s trip to the Chamber of Secrets). And I was also very, very glad that Harry’s “gallant” Crucio never made it to the screen.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but feel that some of the parts that made me go, “Ow! My morals!” were actually due to the way the filmmakers handled them and not to the original. The strongest example I remember is McGonagall’s reaction after Pansy Parkinson wonders why they aren’t just giving up Harry to Voldemort, blah blah blah. Spoiler: our respected adult role model just straight-up sends all of Slytherin House to the dungeons*, and the other houses cheer and then run off to fight.

I would actually not have had a problem with this if we’d had even the slightest hint within this movie that Slytherin House deserved it. All it would’ve taken is a line or two — HARRY: Nobody from Slytherin joined our resistance? NEVILLE: No, they’re all in with the Death Eaters. — or a scene showing random Slytherins doing something evil-minion-like. But as it stands, the audience watching this film has seen absolutely no reason to treat the Slytherins as war criminals. Heck, if this is their first HP film, they might not even know what Slytherin is.

Similarly, although I get that the filmmakers wanted to avoid the book’s problem of: “So these students who choose not to fight… where exactly are they going, again?”, and that they didn’t want to get into the book’s protracted scenes of young kids arguing about how they want to stay and fight, it seems pretty icky that a bunch of adult caregivers would just be like, “OK, kids, battle time!” instead of “It’s grown-up battle time, eleven-year-old children, so lock yourselves in your dorms!” Again, it would have taken two seconds of screen time for: “Everyone  hide in your rooms!” “Like hell, we’ll stay and fight!” *cheer*

Last but not least, although I hate to say it, I just didn’t find the acting as compelling as it’s been in previous installments, particularly from the adults. I get that this is because hardly any characters but Harry, Ron, and Hermione had more than a handful of lines. And I also get that this is because my expectations from so much talent were very, very high. But — *sigh* okay, specifically, I was counting on Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Snape to actually make me feel resolution for the poor guy***, but instead I just kind of felt embarrassed for him, especially in the grief-filled flashback scenes. It’s not fair to expect a single actor to fix up everything that turned me off from the final book, but there you have it.

In the end, as I write this final review (I hope — please don’t sell out, J. K. Rowling!) of the canon Harry Potter stuff, I’d just like to close with admiration of most of the changes the filmmakers made to the books throughout this series. It’s tough in general, and even tougher with a franchise like this that boasts an extensive, knowledgeable fan base. But Steve Kloves deserves some kind of medal for his adaptations. Even though I don’t think they’re the best screenplays ever written, I do think they’re among the best screenplays that one can write while sticking this closely to this source material, working within the limitations of a Hollywood blockbuster, and respecting the author’s intentions. Although each of the movies reflected the strengths and weaknesses of its director and showcased new aspects of the developing talents of its stars, they were all lots of fun.

So long, HP! It’s been a slice.

* Actually, all other things being equal, I would’ve preferred all of Slytherin getting sent to the dungeons (movie) than all of Slytherin getting sent outside to be repatriated with the Death Eaters (book). At least the former is just, “Sorry, kids, but you’re kind of related to those magical Nazis out there, and we don’t know if we can trust you.” ** and the latter is, “You’re so innately evil, let’s not even pretend any of you could make the right choice.”

** Sort of underscored by how the Slytherin kids wordlessly trudge off. (“Whatever. No one here understands me. I’m gonna go write in my poetry journal and listen to some screamo.”)

*** I can’t say I was disappointed that the film didn’t do this, because at first I thought it had and appreciated the clever metaphor/symbolism/whatever until it turned out to be a relic of my poor eyesight. But it would’ve been cool (and emotionally resolving, for me) to have Albus Severus played by the same kid who played young Snape and young Lily and young James #2 played by the same kids who played young Lily and young James #1. Like: hooray, problem solved in the next generation!