Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows-Part One

So, I've finally caught up with the rest of the world and have seen the highly-anticipated Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows part one of two.

I came to this film in a different situation to a lot of other young people, I think. By the time Deathly Hallows as a novel came out my interest in the Harry Potter series had faded, I had found other books which I enjoyed more, and other books that spoke to me more. Since, I have not re-read any of the books, meaning I entered this film not really remembering what had happened in the novel; and so had less of the issue of constantly comparing it to the text.

The basic plotline is that after the death of Dumbledore at the end of Half-Blood Prince, the wizarding world has become a far more dark and dangerous place to be. The Ministry of Magic becomes infiltrated by Voldemort's forces and it becomes reminiscent of a dictatorship, with a purge of 'mudbloods', people who are born to a wizard/witch and a non-wizard/witch eerily like the eugenics programmes favoured by Hitler. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are forced into hiding, as Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and the Ministry of Magic join forces to track him down and destroy him.

However (and this is where the plot gets a little complicated) in order to destroy Voldemort, Harry needs to find the 'horcruxes', which contain aspects of Voldemort's soul (bringing to mind Chamber of Secrets, where Tom Riddle's diary contained part of the soul). On top of this, they must also find a way to prevent Voldemort gaining the 'Deathly Hallows'-the invisibility cloak, elder wand and resurrection stone, as this would make him the 'Master of Death'. (This is where you realise there is a very good reason for the film being in two parts!)

Deathly Hallows is much, much darker than any other of the other films and novels in terms of the plot. In the very beginning of the film we see Hermione removing her parents' memories of her, in order to save them from any horrors that might happen in the coming weeks. There is also a scene at an inn where the Death Eaters meet Voldemort where the owner is essentially being tortured by Voldemort and is then murdered and later on in the film Hermione is tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham-Carter). We are also worlds away from the Hogwarts-based action that has dominated the first films, Harry, Ron and Hermione instead spend much of their time in deserted woodlands.

Performance-wise, things are pretty much the same as they have been for the past few films. Radcliffe still shows little signs of actually being able to act-this may seem cruel, but there seems precious little character development for him. Yet, I will admit that the scene where all the other characters turn into him shows that he at least had some comic skills. Grint is a good actor, even if he is saddled with playing grumpy Ron for much of this film; but he does still provide some light relief, and is a reminder of the sacrifices that Harry's friends have made for him throughout their years of friendship. The biggest change for me was that Emma Watson delivered the best performance out of all the films, she was funny and bought a maturity to some pretty tough scenes.

There was precious little screentime for anyone else in this film. As Bellatrix, Bonham-Carter continues to produce the type of performance she is known for and Fiennes has perfected the soft voice and snake-like characteristics of Voldemort. Toby Jones, who voices the house elf Dobby, had me in tears. As the twins Fred and George, James and Oliver Phelps manage to inject charisma and humour into the few scenes that they appear in; and a special mention should go to David O'Hara, Steffan Rhodri and Sophie Thompson, for playing the bodies possessed by Harry, Ron and Hermione when they break into the Ministry of Magic.

I'm really eagerly awaiting the second part, in my head its the bit that I remember more clearly (but we won't mention the epilogue). I'm looking forward to seeing more of Alan Rickman (Snape), Tom Felton (Malfoy) and Matthew Lewis (Neville), especially. I really enjoyed this first half, I enjoy the darkness and the fact you now have to pay attention to the plotlines. Roll on July 2011...!