HP DH Pt. Two All-Encompassing Analysis FIVE

We do now arrive at another shortcoming on Kloves's part.  We get the tiniest acknowledgement of Percy's betrayal of his own family in Order of the Phoenix when Percy assists in the makeshift trial Harry receives for creating Dumbledore's Army.  It's never mentioned again.  Consequently, we never get the tears Mrs. Weasley sheds for his absence or the emotional reunion in the Room of Requirement where Percy apologizes earnestly.  Fred calls him a "ministry loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron" and Percy agrees.  (He DOES come back, but nobody really notices or cares.)  Later, then, when Percy is dueling Pius Thicknesse, Fred is thrilled to hear Percy make a joke.  Fred muses over this with a smile on his face before he's killed.  The movie had him cowering in a corner.  That's not how Fred Weasley went.  Ever the jokester, he died laughing.

The journey that Ron, Hermione, and Harry take to go find Voldemort is executed well, also shows the destruction I mentioned and does definite justice to the epic Battle of Hogwarts.  (Unlike the final scenes of Half Blood Prince, in which there is supposed to be a battle as the Death Eaters and Draco escape, this movie accurately covers the war.)  The giants, suits of armor, acromantulas, and Fenrir Greyback devouring poor Lavender each made the appearances they were supposed to.  I like that Kloves had Aberforth's patrons (goat) save Harry, Ron, and Hermione instead of Ernie, Luna, and Seamus (boar, hare, and fox).  Aberforth still has faith after all.  I'd have liked to see the animal patronuses come back but I suppose a goat doesn't appear as effective as a giant silver shield would, plus a goat could be confused with Snape's doe.  So I do accept this change.  Moving on, I'm confused about why Voldemort's chilling in a boathouse, but if they thought the Shrieking Shack required too much explaining, I'll go with it.  Snape's death, God Bless him, was done elegantly and cruelly, with blood splattering all over the windows.  Snape's last moments were done excellently, and I thought it was a very nice touch to have the memories come out as tears.  He also finally tells Harry that he has his mother's eyes, something we don't hear often enough in the movies, and a very poignant point for those who know what's coming in The Prince's Tale.  Hats off to David Yates and Steve Kloves for some very well- orchestrated scenes here.

When Voldemort calls his troops out of battle, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk through the Great Hall and observe those who gave their lives in battle (rest in peace, Lavender, Fred, Remus, and Tonks).  Harry then proceeds upstairs to observe the memories.  I do like the line in the book when Harry notes that nothing left to him, even by Snape, could make him feel worse than he already did.  I was and still am very impressed by the movie portrayal of the Prince’s Tale.  The scenes as kids, though abridged and altered, came off as full of that lighthearted magic kids are inherently capable of.  The memories that show Snape coming to the Order’s side of the war and his anguish for Lily’s death are excellent for Alan Rickman’s range as an actor.  My heart breaks with his, though I am a bit weirded out by his hugging her limp body.  I’d have liked to see the scene at the Yule Ball where Snape tells Dumbledore he is not as much a coward as Karkaroff is and will not flee from the strengthening Dark Mark.  Dumbledore calls Snape brave by saying that he wonders if they Sort kids too early.  Snape then looks absolutely stricken at the suggestion of being placed in Gryffindor.  I’m just being picky, though.  The moment when Dumbledore asks “After all this time?” and Snape answers “Always,” is perfect.  That’s when I start crying and never really stop.  The way Severus’s voice breaks on “Expecto Patronum,” a gossamer doe prances through the air, and a tear rolls down his face make the viewer feel the terrible pain that can result from such strong love.  Of course, the message is clear: love is so worth fighting for.  This scene brings Harry terrible news, but is so, so well done.  

I repeat, the tears continue at this point.  Although he isn’t supposed to say goodbye to Ron and Hermione, his stream of consciousness and reasons not to would have been difficult to explain in the movie.  For the purposes of translating a novel into a screenplay, it kind of works that Hermione realized Harry had a piece of Voldemort in him, and that Harry had begun to notice as well.  I’m not crazy about it, but the movie rather needs it.  The goodbye is emotional, though I can only surmise that Ron hung back from Harry out of disbelief, confusion, and subconscious fear.  Harry’s walk into the forest is precisely correct.  Again, we lose his stream of consciousness and the way he remembers the snitch, but it’s easier to remember the snitch’s message from a movie and a half ago than to remember it from six hundred pages ago.  Going along with this issue of being unable to express a stream of consciousness, we do miss Harry's reminiscences of past time in the forest or in Hagrid's hut, but flashbacks of that sort may have seemed cheesy, plus they were done in ORder of the Phoenix.  The Resurrection Stone Scene is exactly as I envisioned it the first and every subsequent time I’ve read Deathly Hallows.  I recall curling up on my sofa, sobbing into the book, leaving the pages crinkled with tears.  (Unrelated and not cannon, but this is cute in a tragic way.)  The way Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily speak with Harry makes me do the same.  It may not be directly because of the scene in the movie, but also because I understand the influence each of these characters has in Harry’s understanding of what he must do and why on a different level.  I’ve spent so many years reading and reflecting on these books that they are an unbelievable combination of historically true and the stuff of legend.  And yet, perhaps that’s precisely what the film meant to do.  It means a different amount to different people. The truth of the matter is that not everyone will interpret this film the same way.  This scene will have to mean more to those whose hearts are ready for it to mean more.  To conclude: I love this scene.

Harry's death was as cold and unceremonious as it needed to be.  It still hurts to think about how scared I was when I first read it.  The King's Cross scene went generally well.  Clothes and glasses were relatively insignificant details.  The shattered piece of Voldemort's soul was sickly and sickening as it needed to be.  Harry's dialogue with Dumbledore took many direct lines, but lacked Dumbledore's whimsical, charming character.  We miss a ton of Dumbledore's family history and, again, more on why this matters can be found in the pros and cons list to follow.  My favorite line made it in: "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on Earth should that mean that it is not real?" This validates the whole series for me.  Even if it's not written down in history books and there's no proof anywhere that anything happened, it certainly happened anyway, if only in our minds.

HP DH Pt. Two All-Encompassing Analysis Part Four

McGonagall was an absolute BAMF in this movie.  She just absolutely owns everything that crosses her path.  Nice job, Maggie Smith.  I do like the visual we get of the school being protected, and the way Voldemort later, enraged with the destruction of another horcrux, breaks through.  I happen to like Scabior as a doofy and less threatening villain, so I'm glad he got a quick moment in this film before the bridge exploded.  On that note, I liked, the intimidating quality of Voldemort's vast army, Neville’s bravado on the bridge scene, and how they referenced Seamus's "proclivity for pyrotechnics."  Both were very Rowling things to do.  Brownie points.

They skipped some details in the Grey Lady's tale.  They weren't significant but they were nice details to know and fit well into the biography of Tom Riddle's life we began to compile during Half Blood Prince (book).  Although I wasn't crazy about the way the Grey Lady appeared more opaque than other ghosts in the movies, I loved her personality and her demonic qualities when she got worked up.  Very well done.

I understand how and why they had Harry find the diadem the way he did in the movie, but the story in the book was infinitely better.  We know he himself placed the tiara on a "stone effigy" one year before trying to locate it as a horcrux.  He himself realizes this in a stream of conscious thought.  I understand that Kloves couldn't write this into the script because there is no mention of a diadem in Half Blood Prince.  (I'd like to point out that Harry and Ginny's kiss got in the way of that, and that the movie kiss was creepy and entirely unfulfilling.  That movie created no chemistry between Harry and Ginny, just a series of awkward encounters in which we know they are each thinking about each other.  J.K. is exponentially more successful at seamlessly stitching their budding relationship into the story.  If they'd have done it her way--flirting and chemistry and a kiss in a crowded common room--they would have been able to do the tiara thing properly.)  It's just so much more climactic when Harry realizes he knows what and where the final horcrux is than when he listens to the nails-on-chalkboard sound that he alone can hear to find the diadem.  

On the note of finding/destroying horcruxes, I'm glad they showed Ron and Hermione taking on Hufflepuff's Cup even though we only hear about it in the book.  (My mac thinks I'm mental right now with all the words that are not in the English language.)  The way Voldemort himself is evident in the aftermath of every horcrux's destruction is a chilling effect as well.  I do take issue with the much anticipated kiss between Ron and Hermione.  In the book, Ron realizes they've got to get the house elves out before they perish in the battle, indirectly telling Hermione that after all her years of lecturing them about Spew and equal rights, he has been listening after all.  She runs at him and is the first to kiss him.  I love that because it reveals just how well Ron's been paying attention to Hermione, highlights both their political consciousnesses, and shows Hermione's nerve in being the one to kiss him.  Going by J.K.'s characterization, that's the way it would have gone down.  (Click to zoom in.)  I also adore when Harry has to yell to get their attention, saying, "OI! There's a war going on!" to which Ron replies, "I know mate, so it's now or never, isn't it?"  However, considering elf rights never came into the movie (Half the elves never even made it in.  WINKY never even made it in.  I take personal offense to this since my car is named after the poor darling.) and it may not have translated well to the screen to have Harry watch awkwardly, it was done well enough.  On a related note, this is cute.

I liked the scene in the Room of Requirement very much.  I like how Draco faltered and confirmed the audience's suspicion that he's not all bad after all.  Ron's shouting about Hermione being his girlfriend was a good touch.  I'm none too bothered that they swapped out Crabbe (arrested for possession of drugs and drug use paraphernalia) for Blaise Zabini. Giving Goyle the role of especially evil best friend instead of Crabbe was fine.  For a necessary change, it was pretty graceful.  Goyle's being unable to put out the fire was shown with humor and clarity.  His death was cruel but warranted.  I definitely cheered when they pulled the direct line, "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY." (<--LOL) Malfoy and Blaise are saved because Harry is being the bigger person, though rightly so, for Malfoy isn't a real villain after all.  The fiendfyre was super cool and pretty much exactly as I envisioned it.  The diadem was destroyed, and I generally loved the scene, besides the previously mentioned glitch about how Harry knew where the horcrux was.

As I mentioned, I like the visible protection around the school.  Similarly, I like how we see Voldemort's efforts to destroy it.  The image we see on posters and in clips in the film of the castle--the first place Harry felt he belonged, where we learned the spectrum of beautiful and terrible magic, where our heroes grew up, and where we ourselves grew up in our mind's eye--being annihilated breaks my heart in a way I didn't know the movies were capable of.  Watching these scenes, I become a student of Hogwarts, out there fighting Death Eaters for the sake of all things worth living for, seeing my childhood and adolescence crash down around me, burning and collapsing and crying out in pain.  Very emotionally charged images.

HP DH Pt. Two All-Encompassing Analysis Parte Numero Tre

We miss out on SO MUCH of the Dumbledore family history in Aberforth's rant about Albus (and more so later when Albus meets Harry in Kings Cross).  I am slightly outraged at this.  Although this "ghost plot" doesn't matter much to the overarching plot, the knowledge we glean matters significantly where the meaning of the novel is concerned.  I thought perhaps they'd film more of these two scenes and at least put them in the Deleted Scenes section but they didn't even do that!  You can see more about why I think this matters in the pros and cons list to follow.  

Neville's appearance behind Arianna (who is definitely at least 20 in that picture when she should be eight) is as heartwarming as it needed to be.  Even the music gets warmer.  I distinctly remember the theater erupting into applause and cheers for him.  Granted, we were a highly excitable audience.  Still though, that moment was nicely done.  Neville's description of the Carrows on the walk to the castle, though condensed, is good enough to give the audience an idea of what's going on.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione's first appearance to those hiding out in the Room of Requirement is also uplifting and heartwarming for all the refugees.  I have an issue with the way students came and went from the Room of Requirement.  The whole point is that students stay there because the moment the Carrows or Snape finds them, they'll be killed for rising up or sent to stay as prisoners in Malfoy Manor or the like.  Students in the movie just treat it like a multi-house common room and leave for classes/to answer Snape's beck and call whenever they please.  

The light humor about Ginny missing Harry more than Ron and Seamus's quip about having "nothing to go on" were cute and timely.  Characterization was great in this film.  Except for Voldemort, but I'll tear them apart for that later.

I despise the fact that they left out the Ravenclaw Tower scene.  Just having that scene, learning that little bit about the Ravenclaw password question and Hogwarts itself, made the reader remember how delightfully surprising the magical world can be.  It's not all wars and horcruxes.  I also like the way Alecto summons the Dark Lord, Luna stuns her, Amycus spits at McGonagall, Harry uses the Cruciatus Curse on him, and McGonagall puts them out of sight.  That's all much more exciting than Harry's random speech in the Great Hall.  Harry had his chance to make Snape feel like an asshole at the end of Half Blood Prince.  (They screwed that up too.  Harry correctly accused Snape of being a coward but Snape was supposed to scream with rage that he is not a coward.  Readers, of course, think he is a coward and personally want to run him through with a pitchfork.  This makes the truth about Severus's feelings for Lily all the more poignant at the end of Deathly Hallows.  However, I continue to digress.)   He didn't need another chance here unless that was Warner Brothers' way of reminding us all of what Snape has done.  In retrospect, this may actually help movie-viewers/those who forget the details of the books to understand the precise level of irony and tragedy revealed in Snape's memories.  To conclude:  I like the book scene better, but the movie scene may have proved helpful for those unfamiliar with the plot. 

The way Voldemort's voice got inside the heads of everyone in the castle was a really cool effect.  The little girl's chilling screams were unnecessary.  Pansy Parkinson's demand to hand Harry over and the way everyone defended him were both true to the plot and meaning (which is that love is a thing worth fighting for).  They skipped the dismissing of the younger students, but this is one of those unnecessary details.  The fact that Slytherins are thrown in the dungeons is inconsistent with the emerging meaning in the books that your house doesn't define you.  Look at Snape, Regulus, Narcissa, and Draco.  Conversely, look at Pettigrew.  Slytherins may tend to keep the best of themselves hidden, but they need not be thrown in a dungeon for it when the book clearly mandates that they are evacuated from the building.

HP DH Part Two All Encompassing Analysis Part Dos

SURPRISE, two new blogs within 12 hours of each other! 

So, starting from the top of the film:

The recap of Voldemort taking Dumbledore's wand and the interrogation of Griphook go as we expect them to.  The film's first mistake is Ollivander's response when Harry asks if he's familiar with the Deathly Hallows.  Ollivander basically recaps what we learned from Xenophilius a few chapters previously.  According to Rowling, however, Ollivander is confused by the question.  "His profession [wandlore] is his obsession," and, although he's familiar with the history of the Elder Wand, he has no idea about the other hallows.  This is significant because it confirms the difference between horcruxes and hallows and Harry's belief that Voldemort has chosen horcruxes over hallows as his protection from death.  Harry had suspected this previously and fancied that he would combat Voldemort's horcruxes by being Master, Conqueror, Vanquisher of Death with the aid of the hallows.  As our perception of hallows and horcruxes develop with Harry's we know he will need to choose between the two.  The fact that Harry chooses to speak to Griphook first about stealing a horcrux over speaking to Ollivander about the Elder Wand/ask about the Deathly Hallows demonstrates his choice to destroy horcruxes over his desire to master the hallows.  This action also demonstrates the trust Harry places in Dumbledore because Dumbledore never mentioned the hallows as a veritable way to overcome the Dark Lord.  We miss ALL of this when Ollivander lets Harry know about the three hallows in the movie.  

The Gringotts heist goes very much as it does in the book, with the small exceptions of the removal of Travers at Bellatrix's side, the probity-probes, and the Flagrante Charm on the treasure in the Lestranges' vault.  On the whole, this scene was exciting and true to the book.

Harry's revelation that the final horcrux is at Hogwarts and is related to Rowena Ravenclaw is done well considering it's a stream of Voldemort's consciousness in the book and that the movie audience is unaware of Tom Riddle's attachment to each of the founders of Hogwarts/his desire to make something related to each of them into a horcrux.  I guess we're just supposed to gloss over the fact that Voldemort somehow checks on three hallows instantaneously?  It's a detail that is necessary to account for a book, but a loophole that goes unnoticed in a movie.  Voldemort's enraged freakout and mass slaughter of goblins is shown elegantly as he walks, bloody and barefooted, through a room of dead goblins and followers.  I thought showing the deceased Griphook and the sword disappearing from his hand (presumably to go inhabit the Sorting Hat) to be a nice touch.

I rather liked how, in the book, Aberforth used his goat patronus to throw the Death Eaters off the scent of Harry's stag.  Then again, the movies have never previously mentioned Aberforth or his affinity for goat charming as the books did, so it may not have flowed nicely with the scene.  This brings up another point, albeit a small one, that I take issue with.  Movie Aberforth rightly asserts that Albus never told Harry about his family and brother.  Book Albus, though, mentions Aberforth at least once.  It's not a flattering light since it's when Albus is encouraging Hagrid to ignore hate mail the way Aberforth did after the goat charming incident, mentioning in passing that it may have been because Aberforth couldn't read.  My point is that Movie Aberforth shouldn't make that accusation when Book Albus does indeed mention him.  Sort of.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two All Encompassing Analysis

Hi guys!  I SO apologize for failing to blog for the last month.  I have, however, compiled a lengthy and all-encompassing analysis of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two to compensate.  I’ll post it in parts, starting now!

Today marks the fifth time I've seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two and I have a lot to say about it.  This is nothing new since I always have plenty to say on the subject of Harry Potter and the unfathomably deep levels of meaning his story poses for me.  Alas, I digress.  I'll post theories and essays soon.  Here is my all-encompassing analysis of Deathly Hallows Part Two.

Clearly there are some spoiler alerts here, so those in the process of reading or planning to read the series or watch the movies sadly must save this blog for another day.  Danielle, I'm speaking mainly to you.  I'm hoping by now you've taken a good bite out of Deathly Hallows and that you will turn around and go finish it now.

My favorite DH trailer was the very first one that premiered for part one.  I'm glad that Warner Brothers worked up such a fantastic hype for these movies.  To be fair, the fans, ever so devoted, worked just as hard at making sure the premiere was as epic as wizardly possible.  The first trailer, which was released in June of 2010, showed scenes from both movies, featured the most dramatic music, and had captions that came closest to encompassing the magnitude of the significance these last movies hold in the hearts of fans.  It calls the film(s) "The epic conclusion of a worldwide phenomenon," and "The motion picture event of a generation."  I'm particularly fond of the latter, for we are the Potter Generation.  

As Rebecca puts it, the last film is great until just after the Kings Cross scene, at which point the film "takes a definite turn for the stupid."  Steve Kloves follows J.K. Rowling's masterpiece pretty well until that point, getting the Gringotts heist, journey into Hogwarts, Room of Requirement Fiendfyre, Snape's memories, Resurrection Stone scene, and Kings Cross down very well.  The film does, however, lack where Aberforth's story, the Ravenclaw Tower scene, the discussion with Helena Ravenclaw, and Ron and Hermione's kiss are concerned.  After Kings Cross, we get Voldemort hugging people, Death Eaters becoming air pollution, Harry trying to make out with Voldemort, the two of them exchanging nuggies midair, Voldemort's fetish for bondage revealed, and a lot of explanation cut out, no big deal.  Like every installment in this epic series, this movie had its ups and downs.  The question is whether the low points were bad enough to drown out the high points.  On the other hand, you could ask whether the good parts were done well enough to make up for all the poor points.  I'm not entirely sure which is the more accurate question yet.