In defense of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1

I recently came across a Reddit post on how poor the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was from the books to the movies. Now, I never read the Harry Potter books, but growing up, Goblet of Fire was my favourite movie. It had a tournament, a mystery, Voldemort’s final form revealed, and a whole-ass dragon, all ending with tragedy. What’s not to love, right? It was the definitive movie where the tone changed from a series about magic hijinks to one where the murder of innocent children was now part of the deal.

The Reddit though, made me think of my whole Harry Potter experience, and I decided - 

Fine, I’ll give the movie another watch. 

Verdict: Though Goblet of Fire had definitely fallen down the rankings, I didn’t outright hate it. I liked it lesser for sure, but it was not bad enough for me to dislike it.

What it was successful in was hooking me in, enough to continue watching the series, and in particular a movie that is not talked about enough - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1.

This was the only movie I had seen in theatres when it was released, the rest of them I had watched either at school or my cousins’ or at home in some form of hiding (English channels were not a thing in our household). So I was aware that nostalgia would probably play a role in my assessment, but I had always been a bigger Goblet of Fire fan even then. And given my mostly average reaction to the Goblet of Fire rewatch, I went in with pretty normal expectations. After all, it had been 15 years - I didn’t expect it to hold up that well. 

But hold up it did. 

Now for some context to the movie itself. At this point in the series when Deathly Hallows starts, Harry, Hermione and Ron are on the path to finding the Horcruxes. Harry Potter is probably the only movie franchise splitting the last book into 2 parts for good reason, and it uses part 1 to really put us into the state of mind of the three characters at the centre of it.

The franchise starts with this trio, and it is a good move to get them at a point in the series where it is just them against the world. For the last few movies, Harry had been isolated or was mostly involved with adults in moving the story forward- competing in the Triwizard tournament or going on his own missions with Dumbledore. In an effort to make Harry shine as the protagonist, Ron and Hermione were relegated to the background - their arcs reduced to petty arguments, exposition or half-baked romance.

This movie, however, makes sure we engage with the effect of the external events on their mental state. At the end of the day, they are still teenagers, forced in the middle of a war they don’t fully understand, and are on their own outside Hogwarts and without any adult guidance whatsoever. Harry is lost but trying to be brave, Hermione is trying to make do with what little pieces of the puzzle she can find, and Ron is, in essence, losing it. 

Now I am no Ron fan. In fact, I find him actively ruining a lot of the previous installments with his pettiness. From what I understand, the book Ron is supposed to be smarter and more palatable, but that is another story. As a movie-goer, I am amused by Ron at best and irritated at worst. 

But this is a time when the Wizarding world is at war. The stakes are no longer childish. His whole family is in danger and he is on a mission he knows nothing about, and unfortunately, neither does Harry. Harry is at the centre of this whole saga, and this has been known since the day he arrived at Hogwarts. So the effect it would take on those close to him is not to be undermined. Ron’s insecurities - of being lesser than the Chosen one, of his family getting hurt, and a possible romance between Harry and Hermione, combined with the effects of Slytherin's locket, are not unfounded. In his mind, Harry can afford to go on a suicide mission because he has nothing to lose, he is the boy who lived, he is the one Voldemort wants, but that cannot be said for sidekick Ron, making him expendable at best. It’s not pretty when he finally voices his frustration, but it is understandable. They are away from Hogwarts for the first time, they are scared, and they are insecure teenagers.

The dance between Harry and Hermione is another highlight of the movie for me. Hermione, being the smart one, is often used as the idea guy for a major part of the series. She comes up with potions, time travel and much of the group's shenanigans. In this scene, however, it’s just two friends trying to forget their sorrows for a while. After Ron leaves, Hermione wears Slytherin's locket and Harry purposefully takes it off, prioritising her well-being over the mission, only if for a moment, only for the sorrow to return soon after. There are complex feelings these two friends are navigating in their relationship within and outside the group - and the only thing they can do right now is lean on each other for support in a miserable time.

Even the opening scene of the movie sets the tone for what is to come. Traditionally, the opening scenes of the series have foreshadowed the main theme or challenge of the movie.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, it is Harry hiding under the covers and practising spells, and this movie introduces a significant spell that forms the basis of Harry's arc of being a more active presence in his own life - ‘Expecto Patronum’.

In the Order of Phoenix, it is Harry fighting a Death Eater in the presence of Muggles, getting expelled and having to answer to the Ministry of Magic, thus setting up the conflict that will be the theme of this movie.

In the Goblet of Fire, it is the graveyard where Harry will find himself after touching the cup/portkey with Cedric, and what would also be the site of Voldemort's resurrection.

In the Half Blood Prince, it is Dumbledore holding Harry as he faces the cameras after the events of the Order of Phoenix where Sirius Black dies, a protective hand around his shoulder, foreshadowing the loss of this protection as we would see by the end of this movie. 

Now in the Deathly Hallows, the opening scene is the Ministry assure wizards of protection, even as the news of growing Death Eaters and Muggle killings spread. But there is one scene here that is included, the kind that is never in any other movies - that is Hermione removing her parents’ memories of her, and this is where the movie title rolls. It’s a character focussed opening sequence, emphasising how in her heart, she has accepted that she might not be coming back from this mission alive.

It is such a bleak start to a bleak movie - these people have fought enough battles, now is the time for war. And knowing how our heroes have changed from the time they started their journeys to now, is as important as the outcome of that war. 

The movie is incredibly well shot and acted too. You can see the progression these child actors' have made in their ability to carry a movie by themselves. The tone of the movie is grey and dark which fits the tone. 'The Tale of the Three brothers’ sequence is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and the Voldemort scenes interspersed in the movie are pretty effective without the need of overt exposition.

Considering this is part 1 of a finale, it is expected that the movie ends on a cliffhanger, but it still feels whole. Yes, it is bleak, the stakes are at an all time high, and yes that is exactly the point. Watching it years later, I think I like this movie even more than I initially did. I am far from the biggest Harry Potter fan, but watching the magic did make me obsessively Google for the next 3 hours about Horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows.

I count that as a win.