Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The seventh film of the series and the first half of the last book. There is no school. The three do not go back to Hogwarts; they have to disappear and complete a task. The film opens on farewells. Hermione erases herself from her parents' memory and Harry is moved out of the house. A wedding is raided. The ministry has fallen and the three run. From there the film is a camping story. Forests, coasts, a tent, a radio, and weeks of waiting. They have a locket with them. They wear it in turns and the object corrodes whoever carries it; Ron is affected most and leaves one night. The infiltration of the ministry is the tensest section. The three go in wearing other faces and ride down in a lift full of people. What the narrative is interested in is not magic but solitude: for the first time in the series there are no adults, no school, and nobody comes to rescue them. A tale is told in the middle. The story of three brothers is given in an entirely separate technique, an animation like shadow puppetry, and it is the most beautiful section. The last part takes place at a manor and on a beach; one character's death is short and quiet. Splitting the book in two was criticised as a commercial decision, but it made this film's slow, empty structure possible. The colour is almost entirely grey and blue; the series had never been this bleak. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans are in the cast. David Yates directed. Who it is for: anyone following the series. Who it is not for: anyone expecting closure; the film ends in the middle and the plot stands still for long stretches.