Everyone discussing movies based on books has heard the phrase, “It wasn’t as good as the book.” It’s often said regardless of the quality of the movie. Readers of the novels on which such movies are based have expectations that the film fails to reach. Chief among these is the hope the movie will accurately reflect the book in story, tone, and character. Hollywood frequently discovers books with great stories and buys the rights to make films based on them only to make the mistake of forgetting everything about the books that made them great.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, absolutely avoided that mistake.
No film is likely to be, or should be, a word-for-word transfer from page to screen. The last installment in the Harry Potter series comes as close in tone and story to the original written work as could be hoped in just over two hours.
On the character front, Harry and Ginny’s relationship is adequately displayed. Ron and Hermione’s first kiss carries the adorable awkwardness that we expect. The culmination of Neville Longbottom’s long transformation from awkward ne’er-do-well to unlikely hero is convincingly played. An unexpected jewel in this film’s acting crown, however, comes from Alan Rickman as Severus Snape.
Of all the scenes in all the films in this series none provided a more powerful connection to the simple humanity of a character than Snape’s memories being displayed in the Pensieve. [Spoiler Alert] Snape’s friendship with Lily Potter is a brief but moving tale of a childhood crush turned into a deep but unrequited love for a woman who simply doesn’t understand how the shy boy before her feels about her. It shows the lengths the grown man is willing to go for the mere memory of that love, living for years under a mask that hides his true feelings and personality.
The visuals are stunning as well. In this final movie we see a return to imagery that shows the grand and scale of the power of magic within Rowling’s world. The preparation of Hogwarts for the onslaught of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters is an awe-inspiring display of potent magic leaving no doubt that Hogwarts will be the climactic battleground.
The combination of impressive sets and eye-popping effects blend to provide the viewer with an experience very much like enjoying the book. That’s a bit of magic the fans are sure to appreciate, and it’s why this film is my favorite of 2011.
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