Dan, Emma, and Rupert in HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
SPOILER WARNING!
Thirteen years have passed since a boy with special abilities came into our world. His ordinary name could not have foretold the reverence with which it would come to be regarded, yet today Harry Potter can count among his magical talents not simply potions or transfiguration, but also uniting a conflict-ridden muggle world around a timeless story. When the first part of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS hits theatres this November, it will mark the beginning of the end of his story.
When we last left the Boy Who Lived, he was grieving over Dumbledore’s murder at the hands of Snape in HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. Meanwhile, in ORDER OF THE PHOENIX a prophecy predicted that Harry would kill or be killed by Voldemort. In DEATHLY HALLOWS, these two traumatic events come to a head. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) drop out of school to finish the mission that Dumbledore set for them: to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes in which Voldemort has concealed parts of his soul. However, when the trio learns that the Dark Lord has been searching for the Elder Wand, one of the three so-called Deathly Hallows which, when united, make the bearer the Master of Death, they are torn as to whether they should abandon the search for the horcruxes and focus on finding the Hallows instead. Thus, the film becomes a race against time to find the horcruxes before Voldemort can find the Hallows. As one might expect with each subsequent Potter film, DEATHLY HALLOWS is darker still with multiple deaths and battles to boot, but there are also light-hearted moments such as Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding.
Fans will have to wait until PART II of DEATHLY HALLOWS is released next year before Harry’s fate is fully resolved. Critics of the decision to split Book 7 into two movies might cry “cash grab!” But producer David Heyman has assured viewers that we can expect a truer adaptation of the 607-page book as greater time allows. Rumour has it that the first film ends right when You-Know-Who retrieves the Elder Wand, which makes for a natural cliffhanger.
Also new to the franchise is a complete 3-D release coming on the heels of other eye-popping hits at the box office like AVATAR and ALICE IN WONDERLAND. For those who are queasy on or off the Quidditch Pitch, the film will also be available in plain, old 2-D.
No matter what format you see the film in, if one thing is certain it is that the newcomers to an already stellar cast will surprise and delight both diehard fans and casual moviegoers. Rhys Ifans (NOTTING HILL) leads the pack as Luna Lovegood’s even loonier father, Xenophilius. He is joined by Jamie Campbell Bower (SWEENEY TODD) who plays the young Gellert Grindelwald opposite Toby Regbo as the young Dumbledore. Bill Nighy (PIRATES OF THE CARRIBBEAN 2 & 3) also makes an appearance as the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, while Toby Jones reprises his role as the voice of Dobby the House-Elf who we haven’t seen since CHAMBER OF SECRETS after he was axed from subsequent movies.
Alexandre Desplat replaces Nicholas Hooper as the lead composer on PART I, and he says we can expect a return to the melody-driven scores of the first three movies. It remains to be seen whether or not John Williams will make his rumoured comeback to compose the final music for PART II. PART I also marks British Director David Yates’ third Potter film after ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. As Yates’ previous work attests, audiences can count on a highly emotional journey, at least in PART I which Daniel Radcliffe has compared to a road trip, taking Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of Hogwarts’ protected halls and into a raw, vulnerable landscape. If PART I leaves anything to be desired, it is because the real action comes in PART II during the Battle of Hogwarts.
When it was released in 2007, DEATHLY HALLOWS was the fastest-selling book of all time; will its film adaptation be just as successful? Only time (or Trelawney) will tell. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART I drops into theatres November 19. See you there!