~And the wait begins... for the end~. Review on Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Movie - Part 1

The question with a Harry Potter film is not whether it will succeed, but to what extent does it satisfy you. The franchise is the new face of addiction and like an inebriated Paris Hilton driving precariously on a highway, Potter fans will flock to their nearest cinema in their stupor and in the process drag some uninterested junta with them, thus guaranteeing financial success. As an observant moderate, I find Pottermania comical, to say the least. The last book was split into two parts – with the explanation that there was a “little too much story to cover”. If you bought that explanation, you might also be a prospective candidate to be sold the Taj Mahal by Bunty and Bubli (our desi Bonnie and Clyde). Still, earning a quick buck is not a crime, but robbing the audience of a good film after emptying their pockets definitely should be!

Plot:

That’s the great thing about a Potter film – the ‘plot’ part has already been laid out for you! One just has to come up with a decent screenplay. If you are one of the few who hasn’t contributed to J.K. Rowling’s bank balance by notbuying/reading/following the Potter series, then let me fill you in. This is the last installment of the series. The ‘final fight’ has been left out for July 2011, to be released in 3D only (more cash registers, I hear?).

The film begins on an intense and emotional note as we see Hermione Granger (Emma Watson, looking delectable as ever, if I may say so) wiping out the memories of her muggle parents has (she doesn’t have wizard blood, and those who don’t are called muggles – almost everyone would be familiar with Potter lingo by now). Perhaps J.K. Rowling should be credited for renewing interest in Latin, for most of her spells have Latin origins. The dark tone that we saw in the last film The Half Blood Princeis carried over in this one. Safety and security become meager terms. The Death Eater mark looms as an omnipresent reminder. In this situation, the trio set out to continue their task of destroying the Horcruxes, the 7 pieces of the soul of Voldemort, without which he remains invincible. But where to begin? They have no idea where the next Horcrux could be. On the way, we see the demise of three important characters and an ear being chopped off (well, wounded) of the third. They hear about the tale of The Three Brothers and the Hallows legend, three components – the invisibility cloak, the resurrection stone and the Elder wand, the acquirement of which would make the owner the master of Death. And, Voldemort has already got a head start. So, not only does the trio have to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, they have to stop Voldemort from acquiring the Hallows. Maybe, the instruments left in Dumbledore’s will for each of the three be of some help? What happens? Find out…

I’m beginning to figure myself out:

The film lags in pace, focusing more on characterization. In fact, plot wise, a lot of key incidents happen only in the last half an hour. For a film that lasts 146 minutes, such a statement is a disgrace and probably its biggest critique. This is the foremost flaw of TDH part 1. It leaves the 2nd part to do too much. It’s not that there aren’t any key in the film, it’s just that they come too little too late. Almost all the incidents which are key – finding the Gryffindor sword, breaking the locket, return of Ron, capture by Snatchers, death of Dobby and Voldemort finding the Elder wand happen in the last 30 minutes or so. This makes the previous 2 hours seem like foreplay! When there is excessive foreplay, you expect the climax to be gigantic (in strictly asexual terms), but sadly, that too was a letdown. Too much time is wasted to give ‘depth’ to the characters. Harry constantly whines, which makes him annoying after a short while. Ron figures out that he has feelings for Hermione but can’t express them, especially since he begins to feel inferior to Harry and thinks that Hermione would choose Harry over him. In between is Hermione, who has to choose between her two best friends and pick a side, which she can’t, and so she has a meltdown. All this time that the characters take to figure themselves and their role, the viewer is being subjected to overdose of nothing in particular. The story really moves forward after Ron comes back to save Harry. Maybe, Yates (the director) got inspired from our very own Karan Johar??

The black comedy:

What saves TDH part 1 from being a tedious bore is the witty dialogue and the comical touch. The characters often take potshots on themselves and the situation they are in. For example, Harry takes a dig at him being The Chosen One, Hermione on being so smart and knowing everything in the books and Ron on being useful only for comical effect. In fact, without Rupert Grint (Ron), TDH part 1wouldn’t be half as interesting. He gets to be the buffoon, the jealous friend, the hopeless romantic, the forlorn lover… you name it and he does it, all with a comic touch. His comic timing is brilliant. It is all the more effective because of the bleak atmosphere created in the film. If through Saawariya, Sanjay Leela Bhansali created the ‘blue’ effect, then Yates certainly has created the ‘black’ effect. The whole film has this ‘blackness’ to it. It corresponds to the rise of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The polyjuice potion scene of 7 Potters, the journey to get back the locket from Umbridge, Harry and Ginny caught kissing by Fred, Ron agreeing with Hermione in order to impress her etc are all hilarious situational scenes. The situational comedy is good.

Cast:

Rupert Grint as Ronsteals the show from the trio. Emma Watson shows that she has beauty and emotion. She carries off emotional sequences effortlessly, and the torture scene, without being melodramatic. Somehow, I feel she will do better in theatre than in films. She can act, so I hope that she doesn’t get marketed like Megan Fox – like a diva who appeals to the third limb of males. Comparing Emma with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) - who is just annoying throughout the film because he just whines, or comes across as self indulgent. A word of advice to Daniel, in Ron’s own words – “It’s not all about you mate. This is much bigger than that.” Ralph Fiennes is chilling as ever as Voldemort. In Voldemort, Fiennes creates a character of pure evil, much like our desi Gabbar Singh from Sholay. Bill Nighy is effective in his cameo as the Minister of magic. His “these are dark times” speech will be one for the memory bank. Rest, all Potter regulars were there, but had little scope. Helena Bonham Carter continues to be whacky (both in dress sense and behavior) as Bellatrix Lestrange. A special mention of Guy Henry as Pius, who plays the role of the politician to perfection. Now, I realize where our politicians go for inspiration! He was effective in a very short role.

Editing was lackluster. Too much time was wasted on unimportant scenes, like the one in Godric Hollow with Bathilda Bagshot which fulfilled no purpose. The story could have been told in 1 and half hours, instead of the 146 minutes that were spent.But, it’s a money mint, I guess. Potter fans will be delighted to find exact quotable lines from the book that have found their way into the film. Good background score to match the onscreen situation. Yet, at the end of the day, the direction lacked direction (Yates needs to tighten up and have a focus in the finale).

Overall: 2.5 out of 5