By Ali Drake
My anticipation for the new Harry Potter movie isn't diminished with my own understanding that I will be disappointed.
The last movie left me in a snit. OK, its embarrassing, but I'll admit it. I was furious. I actually went to see the film a second time and brought a notebook so that I could take notes on everything that the filmmakers did wrong. It went something like this:
(***SPOILERS***)
~Where are Bill and Fleur??
~Why did they destroy the Burrow?
~Where is Tonks??? (That one drove me crazy. Her pining for Lupin is the sweetest reveal at the end of Half Blood Prince)
~Don't even get me started on Ginny!
The list is long and I won't bore you with the details. But it was the details that got me down! I love the universe created by Rowling. That's where the magic is, more than in flicking wands and drinking potions. It's that she created a collection of characters, she formed them so completely with hopes, dreams, faults and virtues, that removing them or changing their role for the film feels false.
One thing that I do love about the movies is the visual appeal. Seeing the Quidditch matches, Bellitrix Lestrange personified so terrifyingly by Helena Bonaham Carter, watching Snape be creepy and bat-like, Dobby, the fireworks set off by Fred and George...its fun to compare what I imagined with the films.
I don't think that the movies loose the core elements of the novels, either, like the struggle of good vs. evil, the triumph of friendship and love, the complications of adulthood, selflessness and generosity being the ultimate attributes. I think the movies do well at keeping the main themes and messages intact.
In any adaptation there are going to be differences, and its an extremely rare film that surpasses the book it came from. [There are only two I can think of, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and What Dreams May Come, but I digress...] I think the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has the potential to be richer and more complex than the previous films, just because it has more time to tell the whole story.
I can't believe I have to wait till Wednesday to watch this movie....
Till then, please enjoy dorky Harry Potter links:
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