![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninety6tearsI 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.
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.
