Curious Concoction

There is a particularly telling sequence in the opening scenes of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I. A poignant Hermione Granger in a striking alterity from her all-pervading genteelness is compelled by necessity, and wipes out the memories of her unassuming, innocuous Muggle parents to leave their side for good and join the forces against Lord Voldemort and his ilk. The scene is symbolic of the tenor of the film.

Unlike many of its happy-go-lucky, puerile prequels in the series, this installment has its sights set in a tangentially different direction. The coziness of the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the thrilling Quidditch games, the buoyant times spent together are a rosy thing of the past. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), an adolescent barely bearding, along with his best friends Ronald Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) must now abandon the ease and confines of their long-cherished school for good and set out to hunt down Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) intricate and highly perilous horcruxes, in an attempt to ridding the magical world of its greatest danger.

Much to the incomprehensible horror of the magical world at large, Lord Voldemort is back and at large once again. Back to being the unimaginably terrifying tyrant that gave him the much-feared appellation “He Who Must Not Be Named”. And back to abducting and ruthlessly killing those that incurred his displeasure, across dinner tables, feeding their corpses to his serpent. The Only One He Ever Feared, Albus Dumbledore, is dead too. But has left behind, for Harry, cryptic clues that would him lead to hunting down the horcruxes and destroying them.

It might seem too cantankerous a task and too much responsibility for three juveniles. There are instances in the story wherein they almost tear into each other in complete exasperation. This story also marks the emotional and sexual coming-of-age of our three protagonists. No longer the docile kids bickering over their favourite Quidditch teams, never-before-like myriad emotions run around thick and fast. And director David Yates does well to resist the temptation of over-doing them. Harry Potter flicks in the past have been marked by too much extravagance, quixotic depictions, and an insatiable urge to put style over substance. And that is exactly what this film isn’t.

I’ve never been a fan of the Harry Potter films myself. Not one of them ever got my jaw dropping. Primarily because they don’t translate into engaging cinema, inspite of the wonderful scripts that each of them is bestowed with. Deathly Hallows makes a pleasant digression there. It’s also probably because of the fact that the makers chose to split this 7^th version into two installments, and not compromise on any content from the book. This one, for instance, does appreciable justice to Rowling’s original. And that’s what you want to see as an ardent Potter-maniac. There are no empty attempts by the makers to camouflage the discrepancies in depiction from paper to screen, with awe-stimulating, overtly theatrical content of little value. This time, the makers have got their priorities right. Propelled by a tight screenplay and an intensely engaging narrative, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I is much different from any of its prequels; not like a Potter film at all. And therein lies its biggest strength.

The film’s gilded along its way by some brilliant moments. Take for instance, that magnificent illustration of the Tale Of The Three Brothers. Or that wonderful moment in the tent when Harry and Hermione get waltzing together to tunes from a dilapidated radio set, amid much strife and dwindling hope. Or even that heart-wrenching moment when our trio is rescued from a precarious abduction, by Dobby – the diligent, amazingly loyal house elf. Moments like these hold the film together even when the pace slackens at times.

Of the cast, Helena Bonhem Carter and Ralph Fiennes deserve a special mention for their evil portrayals of Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort respectively. It helps to have seasoned, reliable actors like Fiennes in your cast for roles of this nature. Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe show rare maturity in their rendering, seamlessly sifting through the emotional challenges of their characters. David Yates is splendid as the man at the helm of affairs, never for once betraying allegiance to Rowling’s script, or over-doing a wonderful tale for cinematic points.

The stories, doubtlessly, are outstanding. But when one sits down to watch them manifest on celluloid, the expectations are different. For me it’s about the feeling of having a thoroughly engaging experience, one that stands loyal to the author’s marvelous expressions and augments their value with the power that is cinema. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I hits all the right notes on that front and is a winner through and through.

The Harry Potter films finally are what they deserve to be.

Rating : ****