Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1

If you wandered in off the street to see this movie, or if your spouse or significant other insisted you see this movie with them yet you hadn't read the books or seen the other movies, well, you will be as mystified as if Hermione laid a memory spell on you. You'll have no idea what a horcrux is, or why those three bright young students are looking for them.

But for those of us who have read all the books, including the last one, this first half of the last part of the tale will be quite compelling.

Of course, this part of the story has to do with (1) Keeping Harry Potter safe, often at quite a sacrifice, and (2) Finding those Horcruxes, parts of Voldemort's soul that he's spread all around in ordinary objects. There is no Dumbledore to help Harry, Hermione and Ron, as Dumbledore died last time around, and there are few adults around to even offer sage advice. The three are, pretty much throughout the movie, alone. And the movie is so skillfully done that you feel their isolation quite palpably.

What's wonderful about the movie is that, even though you know there are literally chunks of the book left out, there are lingering moments in fulfilling relationships. There are some lovely, slow moments between Harry and Hermione, especially, when each feels that the other backs them up, has a love for the other that is more trust than physical. And these moments, some of which were never written by J.K. Rowling, sum up their feelings for each other.

I have talked with several movie-goers who believe that this movie does not stand on its own. I believe the movie establishes what Harry (and Hermione and Ron) are up against, and the loneliness and pain that comes with that. The movie achieves that very well. And we all eagerly await Part 2, coming in July 2011.

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