Things get ‘Harry’

In theaters Friday: Black Swan [limited]

New on DVD/Blu-ray: Going the Distance, Knight and Day, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I opens with one of the most eerily bleak sequences in recent memory. Hermoine, Harry’s spell-mastering best friend and daughter of two Muggles—author J.K. Rowling’s nickname for non-magic folks—casts a life-changing spell on her household. After a few words of abracadabra, her smiling face disappears from family photos, and her memory washes away from her parent’s minds like surf retreating from a sandy shore. Hermoine, like Harry, her boyfriend Ron and their kind wizard ilk, is in the middle of the ultimate war between good and evil, and she would rather erase any trace of herself from her parents’ lives than have them suffer the agony of losing their only child.

This opening alone is a far cry from the relatively whimsical Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone nine years ago, and director David Yates never lets up on the serious tone of this penultimate entry in the hit series. Deathly Hallows is a dark, unforgiving coming-of-age tale that finally begins pushing Harry to the limits of his considerable promise.

They aren’t in Hogwarts anymore. On the run from Death Eaters, Snatchers and other sinister agents of the evil wizard Voldemort, Harry, Hermoine and Ron are trying to stay alive long enough to finish the work begun by their fallen Hogwarts schoolmaster Dumbledore. With Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic now under the control of wizard’s loyal to Voldemort, the heroic young trio has nowhere to turn, careening from one traitor and dangerous scenario to the next in an attempt to destroy seven items that collectively hold the key to Voldemort’s power. Each item—called a horcrux—contains a piece of the currently immortal villain’s soul, but if all seven are destroyed, then he is rendered powerless to defeat Harry, the chosen one, “the boy who lived.”

The problem is Voldemort is on a hunt of his own. He is seeking three long lost sacred objects—the world’s most powerful wand, a rock capable of raising the dead, and a cloak that shields its wearer from the eyes of Death. Collectively they are called the Deathly Hallows, and locating all three could make Voldemort all-powerful for eternity.

One of the assets of the Harry Potter series has always been Rowling’s uncanny ability—like George Lucas or J.R.R. Tolkien before her—to take disparate elements of mythology, religion and world history and weave them together into something new, even if the archetypes and plot strands can feel familiar. Deathly Hallows pours on the Lord of the Rings and Holocaust references, though thankfully each is used to push the plot forward. Unfortunately, the film’s multiple thrills and scares do not culminate just yet. This Part I feels very much just like that, half of a great film, and the somber ending could leave some viewers cold.

Longtime fans of the books, and now the film series, will love Deathly Hallows: Part I, regardless, for all of its breakneck tension and mystical detective work. The charisma and the chemistry between leads Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint continues to be a joy to watch. Watson in particular brings a mature depth and sincerity to what could otherwise be a one-note role. Years from now we’ll look back on their eight Potter films together and appreciate their growth as actors and their commitment to seeing this epic story through together. This chapter may be darker than the rest, but Harry is growing up, and his challenges are growing with him. After all, a hero can only be as good as his villain is bad, and Voldemort and his minions prove themselves to be ridiculously twisted this time around. Part II arrives next summer, and it’s going to be a long wait.