Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Rating:***1/2

Of all the Harry Potter films which have been released so far,this one perhaps holds the greatest test for Pottermania. It’s been three years since the last book came out and a year since the film,Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,and we have come to know Radcliffe,Watson and Grint as more than Harry,Hermione and Ron.

Moreover,it splits the grand finale of one of publishing history’s most magnificent successes into two,leaving this first part under twice the burden — living up to the past and living it up for the future.

So,does Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows transport you back to the world of Hogwarts,magic,childhood and growing up? Well,it’s a changed world. Dumbledore is dead,the kids are well into their teens,Voldemort is no longer unmentionable,his followers now run the show and his opponents are on the run. So that rules out Hogwarts,childhood and growing up.

So,then,does it have the magic? There are a lot of spells and charms; polyjuice potion is had by many and wands are frequently used and often broken. The Death Eaters take many forms,Voldemort and his snake Nagini can send shivers down a spine,and there are enough scary encounters to qualify Harry as “the chosen one”.

However,the x-factor that would combine all the above ingredients into a magical,shape-shifting,form-enhancing,levitating potion is missing. It’s basically a film about Harry,Ron and Hermione on the run,and while Hermione does think up landscapes amazingly diverse to “escape” to in the nick of time when faced with another Voldemort attack,the plot largely remains the same.

The three set up a tent,and ponder and mope by a steady lantern and a crackling radio before another threat strikes. In the middle,jealousy grips Ron and he stomps away from his best friends. However,while these scenes are meant to be the emotional centre of the film,and much as the three youngsters try their best,the film really doesn’t call for them to act their hearts out — just the storyline. Before it gets too maudlin or threatens to come in the way of another episode,the film cuts the scenes short.

Where the film scores is in its loyalty to JK Rowling’s book,thanks again to a screenplay by Steve Kloves. It brings in almost all the characters from the book (played by an enviable team of British actors,with little to do),and even Ginny Weasley’s unzipped dress. The romance between Harry and her,however,is limited to him fastening it,and it must count as among the most passionless scenes involving a bare back and a pair of trembling hands.

While the storyline,involving horcruxes,a deluminator,a sword,a locket,a book and a mysterious sign,can get hard to follow for those who haven’t read the book and even those who have,the film does a good job of giving you an idea of where Dumbledore was going with his esoteric gifts in his will to Harry,Ron and Hermione. The depiction of the story of the three brothers from the book The Tales of Beedle the Bard particularly stands out.

Surprisingly then,the film omits to mention that horcruxes are objects holding

portions of Voldemort’s soul,and that he has hidden them away in order to make it even more difficult to kill him.

Will that matter to diehard Potter fans? Perhaps not. But that may be precisely what ails Deathly Hallows I. There is no sense of the goodness of good (excepting Dobby’s touching sacrifice) and the evilness of evil,and the not-so-small magic that often the first conquers over the second. We’re in the middle of a battle here,and a battle that’s well fought but half won. shalini.langer@expressindia.com