And, another warning: not everyone will appreciate this insight. Even I don't particularly like it. I wish I could merely praise the movie, without attacking it at all. But I must do justice to what I have seen, and I must call Hollywood out on its misunderstanding. It is impossible to change the circumstances of a final battle scene without altering the meaning of a story. If you disagree with that, or you don't care to investigate hidden artistic nuances, then this post is not for you, and I suggest that you do not read this. If my previous statements have increased your interest, then you will see something that others will not, and I invite you to hear my thoughts.
The lights fall on the audience, and ominous music strikes the ears of hundreds of anxious witnesses. The crowd claps, hollers, cheers with delight as the film begins to roll. But they are not watching a movie- they are watching a heist.
The snobs among us always complain that the movie does not measure up to the book. They ratted out The Count of Monte Cristo for being unfaithful to the character of Edmund Dantes. They slandered The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader because it glorified Reepicheep at the expense of Lucy's innocence. Few spoke against Deathly Hallows Part I, but many will, undoubtedly, attack its sequel. Let me tell you a secret- the snobs, those arrogant, snub-nosed critics, are right. They hardly know how right they are. But never have they been more right than in the film before the eager audience at midnight on Friday morning.
The film follows the book miraculously. Even minute details like the theif's downfall at Gringotts, the clankers for the dragon, the multiplying treasure- all figure into the film. Indeed, the movie departs only once or twice, and each slip up is acceptable. Harry, Ron and Hermione even jump off the dragon into the lake- just as they did in the book. In the Great Hall, Harry confronts Snape, as McGonnogall confronts him in the book, but as this change drastically improves the scene. The audience applauds as the aged woman then throws out the middle-aged man. Glorious.
Even Snape's death, his memories, Harry's walk to Voldemort and the appearance of the ghosts did more justice to the events than the book did- rendering them more tangible and even more dramatic. Man that I am, I confess a tear rolled down my cheek as Harry surrendered himself to death. Even the dialogue at King's Cross nearly repeated the novel, word for word. Impressive. Neville stands up to Voldemort, in front of the whole assembly, and pulls the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat. At that moment, I would have given the film five stars, nay six.
But then, everything goes wrong. At the precise moment when Neville is to kill the snake in front of the whole crowd of witnesses- death eaters and Hogwartians alike, the scene shifts. Voldemort grabs Nagini, and disappears. Harry runs away, not to confront Voldemort before the assembly, but to fight him in private, to win a victory that nobody but he himself can witness. Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix all right, but it lacks the finesse of the book. Molly does not redeem the Weasley family, long held to be blood-traitors, by taking out Voldemort's right hand woman in front of the massive crowd. Say what you will, but honor does not always go to the one who slays the dragon. It goes to the man who slays the dragon before a crowd of witnesses. If he kills the dragon himself, he may be proud. But he only redeems his name in front of the people by slaying it in public.
In the book, battle erupts, as it does in the film, but only AFTER Neville kills the snake. Molly kills Bellatrix, as she does in the film, but only AFTER everyone on the evil side but Bellatrix and Voldemort are dead. And Harry destroys Voldemort, or rather lets Voldemort destroy himself, as he does in the film, but only AFTER explaining to his foe, and to the whole crowd of witnesses, why Voldemort is wrong, why evil cannot prevail, and why love is stronger than death. He explains the secret of the Elder Wand, and Voldemort does not believe him. But as Voldemort falls back, he knows why he is dead. As the crowd turns to rejoicing, they know why they rejoice. They have seen the hero defeat the villain, they have witnessed it before their own eyes, and they can spread the tale to their descendants, father to son, for generations.
The film removes this one aspect of glory, this one centerpiece of community. It corrupts the whole meaning of the story by making the final conflict a PRIVATE affair. But in Harry Potter, nothing is private. Everything revolves around love and self-sacrifice. Harry wins, not because he is stronger or more cunning, but because he sacrifices himself for his friends. Even in the film, the general philosophy attempts to prevail. But when Voldemort falls beneath his wand, when Harry at last rises above evil, by allowing it to devolve upon itself, they are alone.
Let me repeat that, they are alone. Yes, the special effects prove spectacular. Yes, the twin core connections inspire the audience and dazzle every eye. Yes, Voldemort descends into ashes, and is blown away by the wind. But nobody sees it! Is this not the greatest insult to Harry Potter? He has no glory. There is no proof that he destroyed Voldemort. Why does everyone seem to assume that he did? There is no evidence!
In the book, the whole crowd sees Voldemort fall, and when this demigod of evil falls, his body remains, arms splayed across the ground. It survives as a testament to the victory of good over evil, to the love of Harry and the hate of the dark lord. And the crowd sees it. The whole event takes on a collective consciousness as every member of the audience can say "I saw Harry defeat Voldemort. I witnessed the most important event in my time. It was there, before my eyes." Grandchildren will sit, wide-eyed in awe, and the love and community which grows so naturally out of the attraction between a man and a woman, finds its fulfillment in the cultural solidarity of that moment. All the wizarding world is changed forever, as the world changed when the airplanes hit the twin towers on September 11. As the Roman Empire converted when Constantine won on the Milvian bridge. As America stood back in awe as George Washington resigned, first from the army, then from the Presidency. It is not enough to know that these events happened, we long to see them with our own eyes- to be partakers in them, as we partake in an unspeakable beauty in the marriage vows, in the parental embrace, in the communal worship of God.
In the Book, the crowd gives Harry his final glory and victory. More honestly, Ginny's loving eyes, watching for him to prevail, Ron and Hermione's gasp as he discloses his final secret, Hagrid's anxiety as he stands before Voldemort, finally taking his place before the evil that would destroy him. It is the love, the connection, the community, dare I say it, the COMMUNION, that he shares with each of his friends in this final victory, that grants it the glory it deserves.
In the movie, there is no communion. There is no community, there is no connection, and if I did not know better, I would almost say that there is no love. There is just Harry and Voldemort, and the empty landscape to watch them destroy one another. It is like the final scene in the Matrix, where Neo defeats Smith. No one sees it, no one needs to, because it is primarily about Neo's self-esteem, his growth, his development, regardless of everyone else. His matter rests solely between the villain and the hero. Harry's matter, however, like that of a King yet to be given His Crown, rests, not only with him and Voldemort, but with all for whom he fights Voldemort. As the final battle between Jesus and Satan will be seen by all, and Evil's destruction will be made more awful by its public dishonor, so Voldemort's death concerned the entire wizarding world, and it cannot be a private affair.
Hitler's death was cowardly. He died alone, hidden away. He should have died before all the Jews who had been killed in the Holocaust. He should have died before their eyes: it was for their sake that he fell. The world is not always just, and neither is Hollywood.
By changing this scene, Hollywood rendered Harry Potter more like the Matrix and less like the Lord of the Rings. It made The Deathly Hallows more like Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith and less like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It made a tale about love into a coming of age story. They are NOT the same.
Harry's self-esteem: 1. Love, Community, Communion: 0.
Let it not be said that I did not praise the film- it proved beautiful, even heart-wrenching. But the destruction of the central scene of the entire series cannot be overlooked. If Hollywood is to do justice to the books, it must film them again. Or at least, reshoot that one scene, that one VITAL scene, so as to honor the novels that took the world by storm. You can do that, at least- can you not?
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