Now cracks a noble heart, good-night, sweet Potter
A farewell
By Roz Young, July 15 2011
The time is upon us, when the end is nigh and we are excited, yet full of sadness. Years ago, when the final book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was released, Matt and I dressed up, went to get our books at midnight, and read until we could go no further. In Matt’s case, he finished sometime after dawn, but I had to take a nap before I could continue and I wound up completing the read a few hours later than him. Either way, it was a wonderful, crazy experience that I will never be able to reproduce. There is something so special about Harry Potter that I did not anticipate when I started reading the series… it is magical.
And Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon that has exploded, particularly due to the success of the films. Even HP purists cannot deny that seeing their favourite characters and stories come to life is tantalizing, and when you don’t agree with the changes, it’s loads of fun to criticize. Many Potter fans only know the movies (and they are sorely missing out). So now that it’s all about to end, how do I feel? And what about the Deathly Hallows pt. 2? Did it give me the closure and satisfaction that I felt when I turned the last page on Harry all that time ago?
No spoilers. Not this time. But some thoughts, so I caution you to go no further if you haven’t been to the theatre yet and want to experience the movie without my niggling comments worming their way around inside your brain. If you are like me, you probably thought that DH pt. 1 redeemed the HP films in your eyes following the Dumbledore debacle of HBP. That scene should have been more like the book, and I should have wept like a phoenix trying to heal a wounded army. Alas, one film and the death of a free elf later, I got the tears I was hoping for.
This is where DH pt. 2 begins, and the gravity of the emotional strain still lingers. It’s a strong start and an exciting adventure from there. Unfortunately, like part 1, these films are nearly impenetrable for the Potter fans who haven’t read the books (I’m not saying it’s not enjoyable, it’s fantastically fun, but the epic scope of the lives involved is lost. And it would be impossible to capture that in a movie, I know, there just isn’t enough time to tell every story.). There are characters who come in and out of the story without explanation, although us readers are well familiar with the role they play, and Harry’s journey without Dumbledore seems less muddled and confusing to him when the scenes are quickly strung together to cram it all in. One of my favourite plots of the DH is Harry’s struggle to decide if he should trust Dumbledore’s quest to destroy horcruxes, or if he should pursue the deathly hallows like Voldemort. It’s a difficult choice, plagued by his fears that the invincible wizard who knew all was, in the end, as human as the rest of us.
Another unfortunate casualty in the translation to film is the diminishing of our supporting characters’ dramatic moments of victory and defeat. These scenes are quick and to the point, and I’m sad that they didn’t truly get to shine because there isn’t time to linger when precious minutes of Harry, Ron and Hermione are being lost. We could have done with less time on the bridge and more Neville, Lupin, Tonks, and Molly. Did anyone notice Percy in the background? I did, and I wanted to tell everyone why that was so important, because the filmmakers certainly didn’t. Also, someone should give Harry and Ginny some snogging lessons.
I’m rambling. What I want to make sure to say, is that I truly enjoyed the final Harry Potter movie. I’m always a bit disappointed when I watch the HP films, because there is no possible way that a movie can capture everything you experienced when you read the book and lived those moments for the first time. But they are wildly fantastical and crazy fun. Of course the end of DH didn’t do it for me, but I don’t know if anything could have closed Harry Potter for me in a comforting way. I just have to enjoy the ride. There will never be anything else like it.