Partner and I (and most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere) saw the new Harry Potter movie yesterday. Now, I'm one of those people who read the ending of a book first, because I hate suspense. But I could not make head or tail of the ending of this book! (No spoilers here – but is there anyone who doesn't know how this story ends?) But still. I mean, if Harry's linked to Voldemort, that means he – but, wait a minute, Voldemort drank some of Harry's blood, so he – and there's the whole Horcrux thing, so they both – but they have the same wand, so they -
Anyway. This movie only gets us halfway through the book. We don't have to worry about the face-off between Harry and Voldemort until next July. In three-D. It will be spectacular.
Partner and I liked this movie. It's dark without being obscure. It breezes right along (mostly). It's a whole Who's Who of British cinema, too. (Colin Farrell, on Graham Norton this week, made a funny/sad observation that he hadn't been asked to be in it, and that he was probably the only actor in the British Isles who wasn't asked. It's a shame. He would have been adorable.) There are a few jump-out-of-your seat scenes, which are pleasantly startling without being heart-stopping. The magic is beautifully depicted; it's become so natural over the course of the past six movies, they don't need to feature it anymore. When a newspaper photo turns and looks at you, or someone lights a lamp with a wand, it's not even surprising, even for us Muggles. It just seems normal. (Also, now that Daniel Radcliffe is all grown up, he takes his clothes off a lot. It makes for a pleasant diversion.)
But there's a long dry spell in the middle of the movie: Ron and Harry and Hermione wander in the woods and bicker with one another. Time passes. The scenery is very stark and lovely. Aren't we on the clock here? Isn't Voldemort doing bad stuff off in the distance? Why are you guys just kicking around through the dead leaves and pouting at each other? It's exactly the same dry patch that the novel had, and I remember being very irritated with it. A couple of the novels gave me the sense that Rowling was just filling pages with words, to bulk up the novel – kids like their novels bulky! - and this was one of them.
The movie has a sad / ominous ending. Voldemort (what's with that nose? Do evil wizards get their noses revoked?) is winning. Helena Bonham Carter is a cackling maniac. And somebody nice dies.
But don't worry, kids. Stay tuned. All is not lost. There's more to come.
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