Till ‘Deathly’ do us part

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 followed the twisting trail of our titular hero and his friends Hermione and Ron on the run from Death Eaters, Snatchers and other sinister agents, and while the trio is still on the hunt for the final few horcruxes—objects that contain pieces of the evil and potentially immortal Lord Voldemort’s shattered soul and must be destroyed—but Part 2 finds the young wizards standing tall and facing down this army of darkness once and for all.

Much like Luke Skywalker’s fateful confrontation with Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, Harry escaping Voldemort’s grasp is no longer a viable course of action. He must face the dark wizard alone and prepare himself for death or else all others will suffer in his stead. When Harry returns to Hogwarts looking for another horcrux, the good wizards there hunker down to defend their school and their lives from the final assault of Voldemort.

Once again directed by David Yates, whose desaturated palette and love of shadow touts just how far this series has come since the brightly lit and near rainbow-colored Sorcerer’s Stone, Part 2 benefits greatly from having been trimmed off from Part 1. This film is leaner, more focused and maintains its tone better than any other entry in the series. The opening 10 minutes are slow to remind audiences just how precarious of a ledge it is on that our heroes now stand, but the remaining two hours are non-stop action filled with changing allegiances, surprise returns, and even a few welcome revelations that cast new light on the entire series.

As the mysterious Severus Snape and wicked Voldemort, respectively, Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes in particular give their greatest and most challenging performances of the series. The screenplay only benefits when these two get added screen time and narrative focus. Maggie Smith’s professor Minerva McGonagall truly shines as a bastion of goodwill and motherly bravura, and she gives us the most memorable line in the movie. “I’ve always wanted to use that spell,” she says with schoolgirl glee after calling to arms—and to life— the massive stone statues on the grounds of Hogwarts to defend the school.

This final chapter, even more than the others, rests so much on the shoulders of Daniel Radcliff. The setting is grim for his Harry Potter, but Radcliffe’s steady readings and buoyant energy constantly offer audiences and his fellow characters a hope beyond hope. It is a fantastic, show-stopping performance from a 22-year-old actor with a decade of experience and another lifetime ahead.

Though a completely satisfying conclusion, Part 2 is not without its faults. The sudden reappearance of Dumbledore’s brother is more of a distraction than anything. His is a mentor role that could easily have been played by one of Hogwart’s veteran teachers, most of which are given short shrift in this finale, even with the school under a wicked frontal assault and all wizards called to wands.

Granted they had much more going on in Part 1, but this time around Hermione and Ron are given little more to do than to worry for Harry’s safety for two hours and finally confirm their affections with a post-Horcrux-destroying make-out. Hermione in particular has so little dialogue that I truly missed her witty repartee and bookish sarcasm used so well at times to put the boys in place. A quick barb from Hermione would have been a nice way to end to the film.

Speaking of the end, the real ending not the heart-tugging epilogue, it is a bold one, a somber unsure finale that wraps up the narrative, but perhaps not Harry, Hermione and Ron’s feelings. Maybe it is more real this way, with the shock of the climactic battle and the last seven years of their lives pounding over them, numbing them, like wave after breaking wave. They look like weary soldiers. Still, it would have been nice to see a little more joy creep into those final frames, something that reminds us that these are best friends and still very much kids, and that their feats of bravery and honor are all the more astounding because of it.

That is how many fans feel about this franchise, myself included. Eight films telling one continuous narrative and released over the course of ten years with the same principal cast is a remarkable achievement, regardless of your like or dislike of wand-waving fiction. Those reading this who know little or nothing about the world of Harry Potter ought only to start at the beginning, with an innocent young orphan’s first train trip to a world of myth and magic, sacrifice, soul-searching and destiny.

This is the end of an era, for a clutch of fantastic English actors and for longtime fans of author J.K. Rowling’s beloved books. Earlier this month, Empire magazine published an open letter and thank-you to Rowling that Alan Rickman penned after completing his final dialog replacement session. Read it in full here.