Weekend Movie Forecast: Harry Potter Vs. Paul Haggis

So we've never seen any of the Harry Potter movies or read any of the books. (We're adults, and condescending.) For that reason, it was with a great degree of apathy that we attended a screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I earlier this week. But by Bellatrix were we entertained! If you're somebody whose knowledge of Harry Potter doesn't extend beyond this Onion parody, this may be just the right time to jump in. We didn't know a Horcrux from a Muggleâall we've seen is an annoying clip from a previous film showing tweens riding around on broomsticks throwing matches at each otherâbut the basic narrative is hardly esoteric. And we were doubly relieved that this installment doesn't have any scenes whatsoever set at the wizard school. It's all about Harry and his two friends on the run around the world from some really wicked bad asses, and trying to find a magic sword to kill some evil magic charms before they enslave mankind or whatever. It may sound derivative, but it works! One of the most engrossing scenes takes place inside The Ministry of Magic, an Orwellian bureaucracy building where fascists take all the fun out of wizardry. Harry Potter is a wanted "man," but the kids have to sneak into the belly of the beast to steal one of those unlucky charms. They barely escape with their wandsâlike the rest of the film, it's tremendously suspenseful, but what really puts it over the top is the slick art direction, which renders the gleaming, steampunk interior like a Matthew Barney installation with a magic budget. Deftly directed by David Yates, the film is expertly paced, with well-timed plateaus of moody character development balanced between the gripping suspense scenes, and the CGI is stunning. For starters, the animated hairless elf creatures make Gollum from Lord of the Rings look almost amateurish, and the action sequences are just mesmerizing. Other scenes are grab-your-neighbor's-knee scary. (There was more than one terrified shout of, "OH SHIT!" during the screening we caught.) No spoiler here, but the best surprise comes at the end, when this penultimate film in the series eschews a cheap cliffhanger ending for a denouement of such arresting emotional impact that a buddy of ours even got a little misty-eyed. He claims he just had a cold, but we know the truth: He's a grown man who had to fight back tears during Harry Potter. We're totally buying him one of those big striped scarves for Christmas. — John Del Signore

Robert Horan

Published Nov 19, 2010

Modified Nov 20, 2010

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Click on the film stills for more details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Next Three Days, Made in Dagenham, Family Affair, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, Heartless, Cannon Films Canon, Weimar Cinema, 1919-1933: Daydreams and Nightmares, Today's Special, Total Badass/Hell on Wheels, White Material, Nothing Personal, Maniac, and El Topo.