And so, it ends.
Harry Potter. Ron Weasley. Hermione Granger. Three names, that fifteen years ago, only one soul knew the connection between and the emotion within. Yet where are we now, but here?
Adapting the final of a series so dear and so close to the hearts of so many is a daunting task, but as with its first instalment, director David Yates has pulled off something truly splendid. Whether it be the exhilirating action set-pieces destroying the castle so many 11-year olds have dreamt of going to, or the intense character moments with the misunderstood, tragic Severus Snape, Yates has managed to completely dispel any and every fault I found when he first took the franchise helm in 2007.
The performances of the leading trio have never been better, with Daniel Radcliffe, true to his word, giving an impressive turn in his final act as the Boy Who Lived. The original weakest of the trio may still not have as much nuance as his co-stars but he goes out with a bang, just as well do Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. It would not be Harry Potter without the impressive supporting cast and they too, hit all their notes and push the finale from perfunctory to Potterrific. Mathew Lewis as Neville Longbottom is given his dance in the spotlight and smashes his monologue out of the park, Alan Rickman brings out the soft sensitivity of our greasy-haired anti-hero to perfection and Ralph Fiennes proves to the very end a chilling Lord Voldemort.
As with all the movies that graced us before, Deathly Hallows Part Deux is not free from artistic liberty, and the novel being so strongly embedded in my mind, I felt a little disappointment occasionally when events did not play out as expected. Don't mistake this for criticism, as Steve Kloves does a wonderful job of wrapping every loose string up for the casual fans and the fact that many inaccuracies present here are inherent from either previous flicks or impractical screen translation, yet being the absolute last ever Potter film does take its toll in a fan's desire for the eternal emblazonment to be immaculate. Personally, it will take a few more viewings, and time, for me to accept these liberties and so it should, having the last decade of my life being dedicated or at least partially defined by the release of novel or film.
I cannot quite explain what I currently feel. In some ways, it just doesn't feel like it's all over, that there will never be any more trailers or anticipation for the next edition, how can it be so? Rowling herself said, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you in either form, but I still struggle to feel closure. Maybe it is a defensive mechanism, maybe Yates should have thrown in one more elongated farwell pan, maybe after all this time, it still feels too soon, but whichever it is, and whenever I do find out, nothing changes the fact that an era, indeed, has ended- and despite my confused misgivings, I can only thank JK Rowling and the cast enough for sticking with it through the end and in turn creating a world that has lived, lives and will live in the mind of not just myself, but the hundreds of millions of fans, now and forever.
