My hopes and (mostly) worries for Deathly Hallows as a movie

[ninety6tears]

I have a lot of comments to make on the final Harry Potter book in regards to adapting it into a film, and since my initial review was long enough, I decided I'd do an entirely separate entry about it...



First of all, I wound not like to be the screenwriter with the task of pounding this volume down into a solid, rich script for a movie. There is so much gradual exchanging-of-information in Deathly Hallows, and even though this has been true for several HP books, the difference is that most of the dialogue-driven points of the story are actually pretty important, and there's a lot of it to compress into a Hollywood-friendly rhythm of exposition (unless they want to change the tone of the entire series into a smart but tedious and more adult mood, which they won't). Particularly with some of the events that happen while the Trio is camping out in hiding, they will probably have to cut several conversations into one scene. Everyone seems to be saying that the movie will probably just brush over the length of time up until Christmas that Harry really isn't sure where to start with the information Dumbledore left him, and I'm sure they will have to if they aren't set on making a movie of overly epic running time. My only concern about this is that if we don't get a good feel of all the time that has passed, the sort of amusing agitation that builds up between the three characters won't be fully felt, and I thought the comedy of that situation as well as of course the sad event of Ron's temporary departure from the group were important humanizing elements. On the other hand, the encounter with Scrimgeour over the will and the visit to the Lovegood house will probably be stripped down to the absolute essentials, to the sentence.

To be blunt about my feelings about looking forward to the movie, I would have to say that when I finished the last page of Deathly Hallows and closed it, one of my first thoughts was that the movie, unquestionably, simply will not be adapted in a way that does any justice, or that the fans don't consider an embarassment to the fandom and hardly adequate for telling the story to someone who hasn't read the book. I've been satisfied with a couple of the directors on the Harry Potter movies, but am not nearly impressed enough with the whole feel of the film franchise to think that they will be able to suddenly strengthen the grip on how intense and dark and viciously emotional the final film will have to be, to satisfy at least me.

I have this idea that I feel like the seventh Harry Potter movie should feel significantly quieter than the previous films. There are many moments in the book that I imagined should be hauntingly silent rather than - ooh - swooning with little orchestral suspense! King's Cross, of course, is one of them (of course, that chapter is a big adaptation mess in itself). I want it to be deafeningly silent, except for the sound of that thing, and I want it to creep my shit out big time, or I won't be happy with it. And I feel that the moment when Harry Potter realizes he has to sacrifice his own life, on through his walk through the woods should be, yes, quiet. When Harry presses the snitch to his mouth and says, "I am about to die", it should be the most chilling moment in the entire series, and I want maybe a couple cicadas and the short crack of the snitch coming open, and nothing else.

As for the appropriateness-level of some of the content in this book, that's of course everyone's main concern about what's going to happen with the movie. A lot of people are saying, "Woah, man, this could be rated R!" It's not going to be rated R, there's no way. I would piss my pants in excitement if they realized that the fanbase has aged to the point that they could up the rating to PG-13, but I don't know how likely that is.

I mean, here's what we have...A list of all questionable material I could think of, with my ranking on a scale of one to five of the likelihood of it actually ending up in the film, or of it represented as fully as in the book.

Double entendre's about Dumbledore, as insinuated by Rita Skeeter. (2...but considering that younger kids probably just won't understand it, you never know)
Death of owl. (5)
George bleeding profusely from a hole in the side of his head. (4)
Death no. 1. (5)
Curses that make reference to old Merlin's genitals. (2)
Highly sensual Harry/Ginny kiss. (5)
Various uses of "effing" by Ron and Mundungus. (3)
Snake emerging from Bathilda's neck. (4)
Greyback making seedy admirations of Hermione (and calling Ron "Ginger", hehe): (3)
Hermione tortured: (4)
Herm really screaming while tortured: (3)
Dobby stabbed in the chest. (5)
Ron screaming every curse word in existence in terror/glee while riding the dragon. (2)
Ron/Hermione kiss. (5, but I have a feeling they'll make it very G-rated)
All the deaths we don't see. (5)
Snape's somewhat graphic demise. (4)
King's Cross creepiness. (4)
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!": (3)
Murder of Bellatrix. (5)

My overall opinion is that Deathly Hallows is the most 'literary' of the Harry Potter installments, and probably just won't work as well as some of the other books as a movie. This fact merely solidifies the quality of the novel, in my mind.

Comments

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of things in the book I don't see translating well to film, especially the total focus on just the trio for so much of it. I think it would get to feel sort of limited and...I don't know what to call it...claustrophobic. I think it would be very smart for them to actually show things happening at Hogwarts that we only hear about from people afterwards. Snape is such a hugely important character, and it just won't work well for him to have nothing but a few scenes at the end and one in the beginning if they show the Malfoy Manor meeting.

But I don't think this book will be that difficult to screenwrite if they can make it at least nearly three hours long. I think JKR really took her time with a lot of things that didn't necessarily need to have so many pages devoted to, because especially with this one, nobody was going to complain about it being too long.

Hm. I don't know, it'll still be hard, when these are the most important, pivotal moments people will be expecting to be a big scene in the movie:

- Leaving the Dursleys' with all the decoys and getting attacked
- The wedding
- Getting attacked in the diner (this is something we have a lot of reason to fear would get cut, I think :( )
- Everything that happens in Godric's Hollow
- Ron coming back and getting the sword
- Infiltrating the Ministry
- Going to the Lovegoods'
- Getting captured and escaping from Malfoy Manor
- Breaking into Gringotts
- The general battle of Hogwarts shit going on
- Almost getting eaten by Fiendfyre in the RoR
- Snape's memories
- The scene in the forest/King's Cross
- The "everything going batshit insane" after Harry's supposedly dead
- The final Voldie vs. Harry showdown

...Damn.

[vdkapenguin.livejournal.com]

Dayum! Yeah, and I forgot to mention that there are a LOT of things that happen in "The Silver Doe" that BETTER be awesome. The gradually revealing cinematography when Ron rescues Harry should be perfect (because almost-drowning-and-getting-pulled-out-of-the-water scenes in movies are always cool), and I want Rupert to cry cry CRY when he destroys that Horcrux and if there is only ONE well-acted moment from Radcliffe in the entire movie, it needs to be in that scene when he's all, "Gulp...You came back"

[jamesohgoodie.livejournal.com]

lessee that's about 15 incidents you described. if we give 10 minutes to each incident (give or take some being longer or shorter than others) that's about a 150 minute movie. meaning 2 and a half hours.

...i think it's doable.

[soldierbabygirl.livejournal.com]

I am gleefully amused (in a very juvenile way) at how much and how often Ron curses. I hope just a bit of that gets in.

[vdkapenguin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally agree. If an R-level cuss word makes it into the movie, I think Ron should have the honors.

[illcoveryou-x.livejournal.com]

As long as I get my nekkid Harry (even only on the unrated DVD which I'm really wishing they put out) I'm happy. Because hey, I wanted to see Eqqus, so this is just as good :)


But in all seriousness, I was also wondering, while I was reading, how they're going to keep this movie at a PG-13 rating. I just hope they don't do anything cheap so as to not upset viewers, like not have Dobby stabbed, or Hermione tortured, or Snape's somewhat graphic demise...Because I think it'll really take away, ultimately from the film.

I guess we have a few years to find out, huh?

[brighty18.livejournal.com]

Sadly, that thought (Radcliffe in the nude, as in Equus) pooped into my head when I read that chapter.

[one2flip34flop.livejournal.com]

about the Ron swearing part.... you mean besides him saying "bloody hell" a lot haha
yeah i laughed at the part in the book when he was swearing on top of the dragon :D

[brighty18.livejournal.com]

I had many of those same thoughts. On the one hand, there were aspects of the book (Gringotts, Fiendfyre, Nagine/Bathilda, etc.) that appeared so visual that they almost begged for a visual treatment, but on the other there was torture, death, etc. that would not work well on screen.

But yes, other than the prospect of the endless camping consensed into a montage, there seems to be very little that they can leave out without

My guess is that they will just do a VERY long movie with at least a PG-13 rating. Honestly, by that point the movie will ONLY appeal to fans and those who have followed the books and previous movies so there will be no need to even bother creating a movie that will not alienate an audience that is not already familiar with the plot and characters. (They made a fair attempt at that in the first four movies at least.) People will either see it because they are HP fans or not see if because they don't care. And, at the same time, I would not say that the BOOK is appropriate for the same age group as the first two books/movies, so why should the movie be?

I also find it interesting that, while the movie woule have to be more trio focused, the trio are also becoming more adept and thoughtful actors. That is not a criticism, they were very young at the beginning of the films. But what made the first three or four movies really "work" acting wise was the fact that that chodl actors were surrounded by people like Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Richard Harris/Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branaugh, Fiona Shaw, etc. - all experiences English actors on stage and screen. But now so many of these adults are dead or offscreen and the younger actors have to carry on by themselves. But I really think that they can now!

[bicabowl17.livejournal.com]

I have no worries about Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson holding their own in the seventh. After seeing the 5th movie, when Daniel Radcliffe made me bawl for the majority of the film, I think he will be fine, and he improves with every movie. Emma Watson has been great since Day 1. Rupert Grint I think will be fine too, though I think it will be interesting if in the movie he does leave for awhile, and it's just Daniel and Emma.

[vdkapenguin.livejournal.com]

I have heard so many negative opinions of Daniel Radcliffe's acting, and I seriously don't get it. Yeah, he's not phenomenal, but considering his improvements and the fact that he had no interest in acting prior to being selected for this role, I think he's doing an impressive job. If he continues to mature as an actor, I think his performance in the last film might be stunning. I'm a little concerned for Rupert Grint because he hasn't done a lot of extremely emotional moments in the movies so far, but I think he'll do okay.

[bicabowl17.livejournal.com]

I saw Equus, and I thought he was really good in that, lots of emotion, he was spot on. The first movies really make me laugh in terms of his acting, but third movie on he wasn't bad, and every movie he always improved. The scene in the third movie when he's convinced his Dad is going to show up, I thought, "Oh wow, he's acting." It was so sad, and then in this movie well I cried. The way he looked, so lonely, and angry... well yeah.
Did you ever see Driving Lessons with Rupert Grint in it? I only saw it once, and he had some emotional parts in that he wasn't bad. He like Daniel continue to get better every movie.