So.  Deathly Hallows Part 2.  What do I even say to the end of it all?  No more waiting anxiously for the books to come out, no more eagerly standing outside the theater for hours proudly wearing my Hogwarts uniform, no more childhood… as a quote from another review put it : “Yeah, I’m fine.  I’ve just got something in my eye.  Like my entire childhood.”  Oh, god.  Stop me before I start sobbing at my desk at work.  But HOLY BLOODY HELL what an ending it was. 

 The HP movies began as the movie versions of the books, wedged in that awkward place between faithful interpretation and creative expression – and it showed.  But by the finale of the series, they have become true films in the sense that, even separated entirely from their literary counterparts, they are fantastic pieces of cinematic work.  Everything has matured, from the actors (and their abilities!) to the cinematography, soundtrack, and direction.  They’ve stepped into their own, and HP7P2 dominates the rest of them.  There were, naturally, parts that I took issue with, but overall I simply cannot say enough good things about it, and it was the ultimate end to the perfect series.  During the premiere, the theaters were packed to their limits with fans who cried silently into their Gryffindor scarves, laughed uproariously at the right moments, and broke out into wild applause when the characters kicked some ass.  The entire time I had a stunned grin on my face even as I tried to blink back tears, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  I have to say, HP fans are some of the best in the world, and this movie did justice to all of us, as well as to the incredibly talented actors involved, J.K., and her truly epic masterpiece.

Now, on to the nitpicking review!  (Warning: spoilers will be found here in abundance.  Also, it’s going to be loooong, and I will quote a few other reviews when appropriate.)

 

The Mind-Boggling Incredible

  •  Let us begin with the opening scenes: stunning.  They set the tone for the entire film – just as Part 1 was melancholy and barren (albeit beautiful),the sinister feeling of Part 2 was immediately established through the recap of Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand, dementors hovering just outside the castle boundaries, and students silently marching through the Hogwarts courtyard.  I’ll talk more about the dementors later, but for now just know that I loved the haunting song in the background (“Lily’s Theme,” I believe) and the lack of dialogue.  Alan Rickman as Snape is flawlessly unreadable as he stares out of the castle, watching what has become of Hogwarts.  My god, pitch-perfect opening.  Just perfect.
  •  Next up, we arrive at Shell Cottage and Hermione transforms into Bellatrix.  Helena Bonham Carter is Hermione, from the abashed facial expressions to the unsteady walk.  Even the gleam of madness that is ever-present in her eyes is gone, and that makes you realize how amazing she is as Bellatrix, to possess that endless glint of insanity so seamlessly the rest of the time. Much later, after Harry has “died” and the Death Eaters are bringing his body back to Hogwarts across the destroyed bridge, she is dancing and prancing around Voldemort.  The scene was shot from very far away, so this isn’t an in-your-face detail, which makes it all the better.  Bellatrix is always crazy, not just when she’s the focus of the scene.
  •  The CGI of the dragon was just amazingly well-crafted.  It’s fascinating to compare the animation of the first movie, such as the troll, with that of the last few.  I mean, that dragon was real.  It just was, end of story.
  •  When the trio jump off of the dragon into the water, the flashes of insight into Voldemort’s mind that appear to Harry were brilliantly filmed (loved him thrashing in the water), and most importantly, they were believable.  Confusion and chaos are somehow always easier to accept as genuine than the completely lucid and crystal clear.  Plus for once it made Harry seem as though he was mildly intelligent and capable, as he pieced together what exactly was going on from those random images instead of having it all spelled out for him (which is usually the way it seems to work out).
  • Okay, one of the best scenes of the film – nay, of the entire series – was Voldemort walking through Malfoy Manor with Nagini slithering along next to him after he slaughtered those at Gringotts who had allowed the break-in to take place.  Most.  Disturbing.  Thing.  Ever.  It was like a slap in the face to anyone who doubted that Voldemort was not completely 100% batshit insane – hello, this guy is striding barefoot (I LOVE that detail throughout the movies) through blood streaming across the floor speaking in Parseltongue (also LOVED the subtitles, it made it seem like Voldemort’s inner thoughts were being revealed to the audience rather than some outer persona ) as the Malfoys cowered in terror in the corner.  I think it also may be the moment when the Malfoys realized that maaaaybe the Death Eater lifestyle wasn’t quite what they had imagined it as.  As I phrased it later (following the Nazi motif in the series), “The Malfoys are like the Hitler Youth.  It starts out as a fun little afterschool program, and suddenly you’re slaughtering Jews.”
  • Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall is the most motherfucking kickass woman alive.  I could fangirl over her all day.  “His name is Voldemort, so you might as well use it, he’s going to try and kill you either way.”  Swoon.  And when she made those statues leap to life?  Holy hayzoos, my Hogwarts Battle Pride was on from there on out.
  • The last Fred and George moment together before the battle was so beautiful and the perfect way to end their place in the series – not with slapstick humor, but with an understated and dignified bravery and wit.  Aaaaand commence bawling your eyes out.
  • When the Death Eaters and their followers charged towards the bridge that Neville was defending, it was such an oh-holy-shit-here-we-goooooo moment.
  • I was petty ambivalent towards the Hermione-Ron kiss, even though I hardcore ship them, but I did appreciate the little giggle they both gave after they finished snogging, it was so them.
  • Okay, I have to be honest: I feel quite guilty for feeling this way because it is non-canon, but… I love Neville/Luna.  Maybe it wouldn’t work out in the long run, as J.K. pointed out, but still, I can’t help my heart from fluttering at the thought of how sweet they are together.  So when Neville frantically sought out Luna to tell her that he was “hot for her” (at least I think that’s what he said in his accent?), I was entirely satisfied.  And then to cap that off later with a scene of them quietly sitting next to each other on the staircase after the battle – well, that’s just how it would be, I imagine.
  • My favorite sequence of the entire movie (and therefore possibly of all the movies) was the battle montage as the trio made their way to the boat house where Voldemort was waiting.  Oh god.  OH GOD.  I don’t even have adequate words for the way that the music (“Courtyard Apocalypse”) and cinematography paired together made me feel.  The acromantulas, the giants, the graphic and brutal imagery, Greyback feasting on Lavender’s corpse – this is when it transformed from a “magical fight” to a real, convincing war, with or without charms and spellwork.  Just… just.  Holy shit.
  • One other note about the battle scenes: there was an instant during which a giant working for Voldemort was taken down by vines that broke through the earth and tied the giant down during its charge on the castle.  It took me a couple times of seeing the film to appreciate the subtle nod (even if unintentional) to the books, during which the “grounds of Hogwarts themselves seemed to rise up” against Voldemort’s forces.  A tiny detail, but it was one of those things that made seeing the film for a second, third, fourth time worth it.
  • Snape’s death scene was explicit, striking, and disturbing as hell (possibly even more so than in the book), and it was also just so utterly sad.  I once stated in a previous post that I didn’t feel terribly upset reading about his murder in the book because I reserved so much dislike for his character, despite the back story, but the movie… well, I think this may have changed my mind, which is unusual.  Also, in the background of the boathouse a Gryffindor scarf was hanging on the wall – a fitting tribute, I think, to a man who showed what real bravery and loyalty is.
  • When the trio goes back into the castle and discover the dead in the Great Hall, wow.  Rupert Grint reveals just how superior his acting chops are when he howls over the corpse of Fred, just collapsing in grief.  The rawness of his performance here is perhaps the pinnacle of his acting in the series.
  • So then comes the Prince’s Tale.  Again, in the book I was never totally devastated by this whole story arc, but the film made me cry here, I’ll admit it.  When Lily told Harry, “Mama loves you, Dada loves you” – ugh, can you hear my heart breaking?  And although everyone has said this a thousand times, I will say it once more, in all caps even: GIVE ALAN RICKMAN AN OSCAR ALREADY.  Nobody else could ever come close to touching his performance as Snape, and the image of Snape holding Lily’s body as baby Harry looks on is one that lingered in my head long after the movie ended.  Alan Rickman carried this series, hands down.  I can’t say enough good things about his acting in this scene.
  • Another bit of great acting comes from Daniel Radcliffe as he portrays Harry realizing that he must die, as well as from Emma Watson when Hermione sobs, “I’ll come with you” (and that’s saying something, as Emma’s performances prior to the seventh film revolved around her wiggling her eyebrows and shouting every line).  Goodness, the young actors in these films have matured into really wonderful performers.
  • The Malfoys just walked away from the battle across the bridge, Narcissa holding Draco’s arm and leading him away as Lucius nervously scrambled after them.  Perfect ending to their story arc.
  • Okay, I just found this hilarious in a neither good-nor-bad sense: Voldemort bitch slaps Harry and then full-on punches him.  Neeeeever ever thought I’d see that.
  • The epilogue was… better than expected, at least.  And mercifully shorter, too.
  • A couple random quotes that I thoroughly enjoyed, whether because they were amusing or tragic or what-have-you:

             - Ron in the Room of Requirement, to Goyle: “That’s my girlfriend, you numpty!”  I’d never heard the word “numpty” before, but apparently it’s a popular term for numbskulls in Scotland.

             - Voldemort, to Lucius: “Lucius, how do you live with yourself?”  “…I don’t know.”

             - Ron: “I’m just sayin’, that’s the Elder Wand.”  I just never expected to hear Ron Weasley utter the words “just sayin’,” and I shamelessly loved it.

             - Lily in the Forest: “Always.”  This was such a subtle but beautiful tie-in to Snape telling Dumbledore the very same thing about his love for Lily.  Snape’s endless love for Lily propelled the series forward just as Lily’s endless motherly love for Harry was the other pillar upon which the series rested.

             - All of the lines that they kept in the King’s Cross scene… they could easily have been cut out, but I appreciated that they retained them since many of those lines have become famous among the fandom.

             - Ron, to Hermione regarding the Room of Requirement: “You said that last year.”  “You’re right… I did… Brilliant.”  This, to me, was a perfect representation of their relationship – Ron seems like an insensitive jerk who never really appreciates Hermione, but in truth, he listens to and remembers every little thing she says. 

             - McGonagall, to Harry: “And Potter?  It’s good to see you.”  Heart just stopped.

  • Overall, the destruction of the Hogwarts visuals was just incredible.  To see this beautiful set that you’ve grown to recognize and love reduced to crumbled ruins… wow.  I am honestly shocked that Stuart Craig has yet to be recognized by the Academy for his set design – I have never seen someone put so much passionate care into crafting every single tiny detail to make a world come alive.  To get an idea of the work involved: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-07/19/harry-potter-fact-gallery/viewgallery#!image-number=1
  • The development of Harry as a character that was so clear in the books also became remarkably apparent in this film, but in a manner that was understated.  He didn’t suddenly start leaping around with unrestrained bravado, but, rather, showed a new sense of confidence.  This was found especially in the opening scenes at Shell Cottage when Harry calmly demanded answers from Griphook.  Whereas a younger Harry may have had a row with Griphook when he refused to help (“It’s complicated”), Harry now realized that it wasn’t worth the effort, and that sometimes it’s best just to give in by a degree in order to move the situation forward.  Anyway, subtle details in his character, but a really nice sense of development nonetheless.
  • The Ginny-Harry tripe was better than usual…
  • The MUSIC.  Oh god, Alexandre Desplat, just marry me now.  Or score the soundtrack to my every waking moment.  He even incorporated “Hedwig’s Theme” and “Lily’s Theme” into “Snape’s Demise”!  Favorites = “Statues” and “Courtyard Apocalypse.”

 

The Problems

  • Harry uses the Imperius Curse on a goblin in Gringotts.  An unforgivable freaking curse, people!  And yet he reacts… not at all.  This is supposed to be a holy-shit moment for Harry, when he comes to realize that things used for evil can be put to use for good as well – he comes full-circle from his argument with Lupin earlier in the book when he refused to Stun someone who had been coerced into working for the Death Eaters.  The moment falls flat in the movie for me.
  • Take the above criticism and add in the fact that said Imperius-ed goblin was later roasted by the dragon and it was used as a joke in the film.  Maybe I’m being too uptight about it, but to me, having someone who Harry cursed get killed by a dragon because of that very spell and intending for people to laugh at it is in bad taste.  Especially considering that in that same confrontation with Lupin in the book, Harry vehemently stated, “I won’t blast people out of my way just because they’re there.  That’s Voldemort’s job.”  Yet… he just did, and the only reaction anyone has is Ron muttering, “That’s unfortunate.”  Yeah, it’s unfortunate that you just accidentally murdered somebody.
  • Why is it always snowy in Hogsmeade, even in May?  This is especially odd considering that Hogwarts is like a mile away and looks like summer.  Awkward.
  • One of the main issues that I raised in my they-better-cover-this-in-Part-2-or-else post was the need for Dumbledore’s back story.  Sadly, not only was this entirely absent from Part 2, but the movie completely erased one of the huge points of the book.  Harry declares to Aberforth that he “doesn’t care” about the history of Dumbledore, or about what happened between Dumbledore, Aberforth, and Ariana, that he “trusted the man he knew.”  Well, that just entirely reverses the whole character arc in which Harry realizes that perhaps he never really knew his mentor, and perhaps his unquestioning trust was unwise.  Granted, I understand that fitting this entire subplot into the movies would have been difficult, but still – disappointment.
  • Harry never got the chance to use the Cruciatus Curse on Amycus Carrow to defend McGonagall.  :(  Sadness.  I also thought this was another major character development moment for Harry in the same way that him using the Imperius Curse on the Gringotts goblin was.  Plus, I really just wanted to see Harry go ape-shit on someone who dared disrespect McGonagall.
  • Okay, this may be able to be explained away, but on first (and second) viewing, I have major beef with McGonagall’s order to Filch to take all the Slytherins to the dungeons when Hogwarts was in war-prep mode.  Talk about lumping all the supposed “bad guys” together just because they’re Slytherins…  I mean, that was such a major theme in the books, that people have the choice to act however and become whoever they want to, despite what labels and expectations may be thrust upon them (even though J.K. also kind of threw most Slytherins under the bus…).  The only possible way to smooth this over in the movie would be to reason that perhaps since the dungeons are where the Slytherin common room is anyway, they were just being sent to stay in their common room.  But still.
  • I cringe every time the scene between Helena Ravenclaw and Harry comes up.  Oh dear lord.  There is no explanation of whose the diadem was originally, why Helena would want it destroyed, why Tom Riddle wanted it, how she knew it had been “defiled by dark magic,” etc., etc.  It took away precious time that could have been used elsewhere on the plot and was pretty poorly done in my opinion.  Plus, as another reviewer pointed out, “Grey Lady, if you know Voldie had corrupted the diadem, how did you not go to your headmaster and go, ‘So, by the way…’?”  I’m on the fence about how I think the ghost actually looked, since it was far different than those in the other films, but her appearance reminded me too much of those brought back by the Resurrection Stone, and that’s such an important distinction to make: the Resurrection Stone does not bring back ghosts.  Ah, well.
  • Neville is a bad ass mofo, we all know that.  And his running-on-the-bridge-to-blow-up-Death-Eaters scene was brilliant, but then he falls off the bridge and is just barely clinging to the edge of it and no one goes to help him up!!!  They all just stare at him.  What.  HELP HIM UP you fools before he does fall off the edge and die!
  • Fred’s death scene was cut offensively short, as in blink-and-you-missed it short.  This would have been so hard hitting, and instead they allowed the tragedy of it to just kind of fizzle out, especially when Arthur Weasley is shown next to Fred’s dead body looking bored rather than being devastated.  Take some lessons from Ron, Arthur.  That’s how it should be done.
  • Although I loved the way that the Forest Again was filmed, there was no prior reference to Lupin even having  a child – I still just do not understand why they never mentioned it in Part 1, going so far as to cut Tonks off in the middle of her telling Harry! 
  • Hagrid’s entire reaction to Harry surrendering to Voldemort and being killed was a fake-sounding, “Harry?!  No!”  No tears, no struggling to get out of the ropes holding him (which were never explained…)?  This was the man who fled Ministry agents after holding a “Support Harry Potter” party in his hut, the man who saved Harry from the rubble of his parents’ home, who told him he was a wizard!  Come on! 
  • All I could think of when Harry woke up in King’s Cross was, “Oh, there’s Daniel Radcliffe!” because he didn’t have any glasses on.  I know this followed the book, but it didn’t stop me from feeling removed from the film universe for a few minutes, and I didn’t feel that it was a good place to have that sort of disruption.  My other complaint about King’s Cross (although I did like it very much) was that Dumbledore’s appearance in all-white immediately reminded me of Gandolf from Lord of the Rings, once again taking me out of the film and into reality, which is never good.
  • I love Neville, let me just say that.  However, however, however… his battle speech was just tragically cheesy.  Harry died what, like, five minutes ago?  And he’s so quickly saying, “Oh, yeah, Harry died, but NBD guys, he’s in our hearts!”  That rubs me the wrong way.  Or, as another reviewer phrased it: “…they replaced Neville’s awesome ‘I’ll die before I join you!  Dumbledore’s Army!’ with an Inspiring Speech About the Harry Potter in All of Us.”  And then when I thought about what he said a little more, I realized that when he listed the names of people who had died in battle, he listed every major character that the audience would recognize – yet Neville himself didn’t even know some of those people (for example, Tonks)!  Huge oversight in my opinion.
  • Then suddenly Harry isn’t dead.  He leaps out of Hagrid’s arms and everyone reacts, oh, barely at all.  I mean, this was supposed to be an enormous tide-turning moment but that really doesn’t come across at all.  In addition to this, there was no second wave of battle reinforcements for the Order, no magical creatures coming out to support the anti-Voldemort side (I really missed the centaurs and house elves) – that was something that was so clear in my head, and I kept waiting for that EPIC moment, but it never came.
  • The snake chase.  What the hell was that.  It made a scene that was so intense in the book far more lackluster.  The whole time all I could think was, “Why didn’t Hermione just stun the snake and then stab it instead of throwing a rock at its head?”  Ugh.  Ugh, ugh, and more ugh.  If you’re a witch or wizard, use it.
  • A couple things about the Voldemort-Harry battle were just really bad, in my humble opinion.  The Voldemort-Harry apparition during their duel was bizarre on a whole other level.  They spent about a full minute clawing at each other’s faces, and it in no way added to the tension of the battle.  I think in this case it was a matter of those involved with making the film failing to take a truly critical eye to whether or not such a scene was even necessary.  It once again took me out of the moment because I wanted to laugh instead of biting my nails down to the quick in anxiousness.  Then there was the “wand connection” between them that happened… twice in one fight.  This doesn’t even make sense.  It looked exactly the same as Priori Incantatem, but obviously wasn’t, so… why?  It just takes the drama out of the times when such a connection was needed.  And lastly, the final fight between them.  So much to say about this.  At the time of viewing it I wasn’t really bothered, but upon thinking it over later, I take serious issues with a few points.  In the books, Harry won because of the intelligence and complicated logic behind the Elder Wand back story – he could never win, or even attempt to fight against Voldemort in a duel of purely physical or magical might.  That’s the thing about Harry, he’s not an exceptional wizard or particularly skilled at much of anything, whereas Voldemort is; the difference, though, is that Harry is an exceptional person.  I think that got lost in the final battle.  Additionally, there were no witnesses, which again dulled down what was one of the most intense scenes in the series in book form.  Quote from another reviewer: “I love the general idea of Harry walking back into the Great Hall and going, ‘Okay guys, it’s all good!  War’s over!  I killed him!  Yeah, just now, out back in the courtyard!  Well, no, there’s not a body…’”  So yeah, then Voldemort died and… turned into little pieces of paper?  To me, that comes across too much like his disappearance in Sorcerer’s Stone, from which he returned.  It was necessary, I think, to make the distinction that this time Voldemort is dead for good, that even after all of his attempts to make himself “more than human,” he died as an empty husk of a person, just like everybody else.  As another reviewer said, “Harry’s life would be so much easier if he knew Voldemort was made out of tiny pieces of burned newspapers.”
  • A lot of people complained that there was no joy in the Great Hall after the battle was over, but I thought that the movie captured that well because a war, even after it has ended, is not something to celebrate, and there were too many dead and injured at the time.  I believe that the film provided an accurate portrayal of the sense of shock that must have reigned at the time, rather than outright sadness or jubilation.  However, then during the pan around the Great Hall, we see Dean, Seamus, and Aberforth getting drunk and laughing uproariously while everyone around them is in the process of reconciling their grief.  Very, very out of place.
  • Last scene: Harry stood on the very edge of the bridge, and all I could think the entire time was, “What are the chances he falls off right now by accident?”  If I had just been inches away from death, I think I’d do my utmost to stay alive a while longer, not go wandering to the edge of a precipice.  And then the trio stare into the distance at… nothing?  I think it would have been more powerful to have them staring at Hogwarts, and have the closing scene show us their backs, but maybe that’s just personal preference.
  • Things that were never adequately explained:

             - Why was Dumbledore’s hand was cursed in Half-Blood Prince?  It was referenced in Snape’s memories, but without the Dumbledore story, nobody would pick up on the fact that he had tried it on in a desire to see his family once more.  For that matter, how did Dumbledore even get the ring in the first place?

             - What was the point of the entire Deathly Hallows plotline (you know, Cloak is never emphasized at all? 

             - In Gringotts, Hermione (as Bellatrix) refused to present her wand to the goblins when asked to do so, which would make no sense to a non-reader viewer since it was just established in the previous scene with Ollivander that Hermione does, in fact, have Bellatrix’s wand.

             - There’s no reason given in the film for the Caterwauling Charm placed over Hogsmeade to go off somewhere else in the village (thus distracting the Death Eaters)… so… why does it?  Again, just something that lacks an explanation in the movie version.  And it’s obvious that it is not due to Aberforth since the Death Eaters run in the opposite direction.  So confused.

             - How the hell was Harry supposed to have gotten the random shard of the mirror in the movie?!  I know Aberforth bought the larger mirror from Mundungus, but… apparently Harry decided to break it before that happened and hang onto a piece of it?

             - And speaking of how-the-hell-did-that-happen, how the hell was Snape leave him the Sword of Gryffindor?  Without Phineas Nigellus’ portrait, and with no other explanation provided in the film, I can’t understand how this happened.

             - All of the students who were hiding out in the Room of Requirement showed up in the Great Hall when Snape summoned them… so… what was the point of them hiding in the first place then?  We never find out why or where they were in hiding, for that matter.  Total explanation fail.

             - As I mentioned previously, why was Hagrid tied up in the forest in the movie?  Totally valid quote from another reviewer: “…Hagrid’s just there, captured by the Death Eaters, with no explanation of how they got him or why he’s there.  The camera doesn’t even acknowledge his presence until he speaks, so it’s just like, ‘Okay, Hagrid’s here.  Wait, what?’”

 

Overall, I think the movie could have been a bit longer and could therefore have contained more explanation, but as far as the pacing went, there was a brilliant balance between the fury and tension found in the battle scenes and the quieter, more poignant moments.

I know that many people took issue with the fact that humor was scattered throughout the film at seemingly inappropriate moments, but for the most part I will defend it in this particular case.  Actually, this contributed to making the movie a reflection of the book in more than just the plot: one thing that J.K. was most renowned for is her ability to work laughter into the most tragic of scenes – indeed, one of her strongest statements is perhaps that even in the most desperately dark of times, laughter is never entirely lost.  I will note, however, that there were instances in the film when the attempts at humor were severely misplaced (see my above comments on the goblin’s death, for example).

Voldemort became a real villain in this film, i.e., not just a one-dimensional one-size-fits-all “bad guy.”  It’s interesting, as I wasn’t expecting this development in such an action-packed plot, but as I mentioned before, his insanity really becomes apparent, as does his chilling ability to seem bizarrely normal (or as normal as a hairless, red-eyed, snake-man can seem).  The thing about Voldemort is that he is immensely intelligent – brilliant, even.  But his brilliance is overshadowed by the fact that, you know, he’s a madman, and the eeriest thing about Voldemort may be his ease in transition between the two.  One moment he will turn and murder Pius Thicknesse purely out of a surge of anger and fear, but a few scenes later he seems to recognize that if he is to “win” the war, he’ll have to become almost politician-like.  That’s what’s disturbing, seeing Voldemort uttering in such a falsely genuine voice to those opposing him, “From now on, you put your faith… in me.”  He allows Neville to speak even though it’s obvious from his facial expressions that he’d much rather just do away with Neville as he did Thicknesse.  Most unnerving was Voldemort’s open-armed hug of Draco as he joins the Death Eaters – Voldemort is conscious of the manner in which humans are supposed to act, but it is so obvious that gestures of humanity are utterly lost on him.  The hug is more than just awkward and humorous, it’s unsettling.  Ralph Fiennes is more brilliant than ever in the role, and even though Half-Blood Prince failed to bring the character to life as it did in the book, Fiennes’ performance in this film makes up for that by far.

The contrast between the imagery of the dementors guarding the castle in Prisoner of Azkaban and then floating outside the perimeter with a sort of perverse eagerness (almost as if they were just lying in wait for the chance to rush inside the walls and give every last soul a good long Kiss) is so striking, and I think that’s what is truly amazing about Deathly Hallows Part 2.  The film reflects on the previous seven films with such grace and subtlety that it makes the audience all the more unsettled as they watch the demise of Hogwarts.  In the Room of Requirement we see Cornish Pixies lurking amongst the rubbish and hear very faint strains of the song that always played in the RoR scenes in Half-Blood Prince; McGonagall comments that Seamus has a “particular proclivity for pyrotechnics,” as was made obvious in the first few movies; Trelawney and Parvati are the ones who cover Lavender’s corpse with a blanket.  There is an almost unconscious sense of revulsion because thanks to these details and the cinematography, instead of thinking, “Oh, they’re blowing up the building where the kids go to school,” one can’t help but recoil and feel like shouting, “This is Hogwarts!  How dare you tarnish Hogwarts this way!  This is where the students danced to the Yule Ball, got stuck in trick steps, watched in astonishment as food appeared on their plates thanks to the work of the house elves below, traipsed across the lawn to visit Hagrid’s hut for some rock cakes and treacle tart, sat under the tree next to the lake as the giant squid lazily waved his tentacles above the water, skirted the edges of the Forbidden Forest and toed the line of danger and rule-breaking, curled up in a squashy armchair by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room playing Wizard’s Chess during the cold winter evenings, this is home, this is magic!”  It makes the viewer sick inside, as they should.  Hats off to you, Yates and company, for this accomplishment.

I truly feel that those involved with making this last film understand the story and layers of meanings within it far more thoroughly than in the case of any previous movie.  For example, although in the book there is no mention of Filch during the Battle of Hogwarts itself, the film inserts him in the Great Hall, where Slughorn is solemnly trying to fix Filch’s bloodied arm.  Filch looks up with his usual grimace and quivering jowls, but somehow the movie made me feel a tenderness for him that I never expected to feel.  That sentiment repeated itself after the battle was over and Filch was shown diligently beginning to sweep up what seemed to be endless mountains of rubble; for the first time, I appreciated just what Hogwarts must have meant to Filch – a place for him to feel as though he still belonged in the wizarding world, even though he was a Squib, a precious thread connecting him to what he yearns to be.  He cares for it meticulously year after year, and I never even thought of that until those two brief scenes in the film.  Suddenly the character of Filch became more three-dimensional.  To me, that is what an incredible film adaptation of literature should do – not just spit out the information found on pages onto a screen, but add an additional depth to the tale.  Deathly Hallows Part 2 does this in a stunning fashion, and I, for one, am just blown away by the attention to detail and the care that was put into the movie.


I’m actually taking my final note on the film from another review, which summed up my feelings towards it in a far more succinct fashion that I would ever be capable of: “EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND EVERYTHING HURT.”