HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves based on the novel by J.K. Rowling, with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes. A Warner Bros. release. 130 minutes. Opens Friday (July 15). See listing. Rating: NNNN
When Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone first brought J.K. Rowling’s young wizard and his convoluted mythology to the screen in the fall of 2001, did anyone expect the series to grow into a mature, emotionally complex drama that just happens to be about people who cast spells?
I didn’t. I wasn’t terribly interested in the characters until somewhere in the middle of the fifth instalment, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. That was the first one David Yates directed, and the first one that moves with the confidence and resolve – the seriousness, for lack of a better word – that’s defined the franchise ever since.
Yates wraps it all up in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, which picks up at the very moment Part 1 ended and just keeps rolling forward, as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) work their way back to Hogwarts for a final battle with the forces of the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). This last edition serves not just as the second half of the Deathly Hallows movie, but as the climax to the entire Harry Potter saga – and it delivers.
There’s spectacle, if that’s what you’re after, with dragons and death traps and angry trolls and a full-on assault on Hogwarts involving virtually every surviving character, good or evil. Answers to various mysteries emerge, including the true allegiance of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) and the reason for Harry’s supernatural status as the Chosen One.
But mostly there’s proper drama, as Harry finally becomes as active and dynamic as Radcliffe’s been itching to make him ever since the fifth or sixth picture. The movies have matured faster than the characters, echoing the way Harry’s been thrust unwillingly into adulthood. He’s finally a leader rather than a passive hostage to fate, and in Deathly Hallows Part 2 Radcliffe shows us the man Harry’s been forced to become. It’s a real performance, layered and even moving.
Plenty of supporting players also get their moments – Grint and Watson, sure, but also Evanna Lynch and Matthew Lewis as Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, whose bone-deep loyalty to Harry speaks to his kindness and compassion the weird kids he befriended turn out to be among his most resourceful allies. Not a bad lesson to pass along to any kids in the audience.
I throw in my usual caution about 3-D. The post-production conversion adds nothing, and indeed proves more distracting than usual by making Radcliffe seem a head shorter than his co-stars in a few shots. I suspect a busted algorithm – see it flat if you can.
normw@nowtoronto.com
