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Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 Our rating: Your rating: 1 2 3 4 Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: PG-13 (or some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality) Genre: Fantasy Theater release: November 19, 2010 by Warner Bros. Pictures Directed by: David Yates Runtime: 2 hours 26 minutes Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, the popular movie franchise experiences its dark night of the soul.

In the opening minutes, the heroic trio of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) say goodbye to their innocence in a series of powerful vignettes. On the brink of war, forced into hiding, they dramatically leave behind their old lives—and for viewers, they leave behind the typical Harry Potter film.

From there, Deathly Hallows 1 (part 2, the final film in the series, releases July 11, 2011) is a tonal and structural departure from the six previous movies. We never see Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. There's no longer a school-year schedule to pace the film. No Quidditch. Few brooms. And for a series that has been defined by its frenzy of characters, busy plots, and wondrous visual imagery, this sparse film—focused on three people in the wilderness—feels like a full stop.

Some viewers will applaud the film for bringing a new degree of maturity and depth. Others will complain it's a drab and boring downer in which very little happens.

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione

In fact, this first half of J.K. Rowling's final Harry Potter book has all the makings of becoming the most divisive movie in the series. Rowling's epically long novel presented a difficult choice for the filmmakers: Either drastically hack the longest—and most detail rich—book of the series into one movie, or split it into two parts, knowing that the first half is largely internal conflict, back story, and exposition. Fans will argue both sides. Could this whole film have been condensed into one hour at the beginning of one epic Deathly Hallows movie? Yes. (In fact, I think this film would have been stronger if trimmed by about 20 minutes.) But I still feel the split was the right decision. It allowed the filmmakers to take their foot off of the gas, to let their established and strong characters roam, and to explore emotions and dynamics that otherwise would have been lost.

In many ways, this film reminds me of the quintessential "middle" movie, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and its simple plot: Bad guys come, good guys run. It's not much different here. With the power of the evil Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters growing, Ron, Harry and Hermione are on the lam—separated from their allies and in constant danger. Their only hope is to locate and destroy horcruxes, split pieces of Voldemort's soul, so that he will again become mortal. But in this film, there's not much in the horcrux-smashing business. Mostly, the trio dodges attacks, thinks through mysteries, and gathers intel.

Rupert Grint as Ron

That backdrop allows the characters to breathe, to grow, and to wrestle with internal conflict: What if I am wrong? What if everything I believe is false? What if I am—as I suspect—really not good enough? This is a coming-of-age for Harry. His plans don't work. The path is not clear. Now what? Can he be who Dumbledore thought he was? What if he can't find his way?

This film is the closest that HP movies will get to a reserved character drama—and it works. Despite some great caper scenes and three or four bits of thrilling action, my favorite parts are the tiny, dialogue-less character moments packed with emotional undercurrents—scenes that would have likely been cut had Deathly Hallows been turned into one movie.

What really strikes the viewer here is the tone—a sparse, ominous tone of desperation—created by director David Yates, who excels in telling story with location and mood. He infuses visceral action with the frenzy and confusion of violence by using shaky cams and close shots. Stylized animation deftly tells an important fable. Washed out colors and a greenish-gray palate give the movie a somber Saving Private Ryan-esque crispness.

Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange

As the heroes wander through cold, eerie forests, barren landscapes, and unyielding rock cliffs, the movie feels a bit like The Road or some other post-apocalyptic film. The journey into the heart of darkness is also reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. As Harry's world has plunged into darkness, so Yates has matured the films to the point that this installment feels heavy and serious. There are tough moments and frightening scares.

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