In the film, X Lovegood says Voldemort’s name while the Trio are there. That must be how the Death Eaters knew that they should attack.
Saw the movie late last night so here are my OPEN SPOILERED TO THE NEXT MOVIE bullet points…
Things I liked:
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Loved loved LOVED the first 20 minutes of the movie. They got right into the fact that this wasn’t going to be a fun romp in magic land. They showed each character’s plight brilliantly. Editing at it’s finest.
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Speaking of editing…the Deathly Hallows Story. Animated wonderfully and it was totally what I thought they were going to do.
-Editing point three…I liked how they montaged some of the forest wanderings with the VO of the radio. It was able to show some information and show passage of time really well.
-Something I didn’t really like but was totally ok with was the lessened use of Polyjuice. In the book they used polyjuice potion four times (The beginning, the ministry, the wedding, Godric’s Hollow) but the movie only used it the twice. The other times made a lot more sense in print, and really was perfectly fine with not using it in film.
Things I didn’t like:
- Count me in as liking the “wandering in the forest” scenes in the book. I thought they paced well and showed the growing frustrations between the characters, and I wasn’t really a fan of how they did this in the movie. I think they glossed over a lot of the frustrations that Ron was feeling when it came to whether or not he thought there was something going between Harry and Hermione. In order to do this they had to shove a lot of “romantic tension” between H and H and it was no where near that in the book. Hell in the book once Ron left Harry was noticing Hermione was crying a lot, being by herself a lot, and more depressed than ever. In the movie they basically used it as an excuse to screw with the audiences head about who really liked whom. That dance seen was horrid…absolutely horrid. It was no where near the book and it basically just showed that they were better off without Ron. This was the worst part of the movie by far, and unfortunately was a lot of it.
-The ending could have been done a bit better. I realize that we all know it’s a “part one” but they didn’t leave it off at any point that would make the audience want to come back. IMO a better point to end the movie (and really not far from where they ended it in the first place) would have been once they decide to break into Gringotts. They could have had a “let’s do this” moment and then ended the movie. Kinda nit-picky but it’s there.
- I didn’t like how Hedwig died. I understand that the movie wanted it to be a bit more heroic of a demise aside from just a pointless death; but that’s exactly what her death was…pointless. War is hell and sometimes the innocent die.
-No “here lies dobby, a free elf”? Really?
Final point they better have my favorite line from this book in the next movie. The conversation between Harry and Griphook when Griphook says “So young to be fighting so many”. For some reason this line just took me.
I liked where they ended the first movie and when reading the book I guessed this would be the point where the first movie would end and I was right. The story takes a breath here and you still get a somewhat complete story (if you assume the climax of the film this half is their escape from the Malfoy’s) but still open ended for Part 2. I would have hated them to just stop at an arbitrary point without telling a complete story here.
I missed the gravestone and the funeral, but I can see why they did it that way. They wanted to end with Dobby’s burial, but it wouldn’t have flowed well to stop while they go to the house and meet Tonk’s parents and the other people at the house, and their reactions to Dobby’s death and seeing Harry for the first time in months, and then bury Dobby.
Luna could still have said a couple words though, since she arrived with them.
I thought Hermione’s obliviate at the beginning was very sad as well. What is worse, letting them mourn the death of their child if she were killed, or sparing their grief at the cost of never experiencing what they likely considered the greatest treasure of their lives?
That’s not why she did it, though. She erased their memories to keep them safe, not to spare them emotional pain.
I liked the movie better than the book, which by far was my least favorite. Count me as a fan of cutting out a lot of the brooding in the forest scenes.
Does anyone know who the head snatcher was (as an actor). He looked like someone out of a goth and/or glam band. Not sure that was what they were going for, though…
Nick Moran…was in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. They did seem to be going kinda goth.
I think it was added because so many people felt there was a real chemistry between them, both as characters and as actors. I believe it was intended to show that those feelings just aren’t there and that they truly are just friends.
Or the other explanation could be that Horicrux are not only Truly Evil, but they make you dance badly. “Hermione, it says the next one was bought as a gift by a… J. Peterman… for his assistant, one Elaine Benes…”
heh, he reminded me of Adam Ant.
I didn’t think it was sad; I thought it was downright evil. In doing this, Hermione embraced the philosophy of Grindelwald, which was that Muggles were too stupid to think for themselves and needed wizards to do their thinking for them. I’m sure she didn’t see it that way, of course, but I definitely did.
J.K. Rowling said that Hermione removed the Obliviate after Voldemort’s defeat. She didn’t say that her parents got a restraining order forbidding Hermione from ever coming within 100 feet of them again, but they definitely should have. :mad:
In the book she gives them new identities and sends them off to Australia for safety. Forgetting that they have a daughter is just part of that. I suppose she might be thinking, “In case I get killed, they won’t have to know any pain.” But she’s just trying to get them out of harm’s way because she knows what’s coming.
I really liked the dance scene. Harry’s trying to cheer Hermione up, and they get to enjoy a couple of minutes of silly fun without all the worry and tension of the past months. It made me think of what their lives might have been… just a couple of teenagers goofing off.
I liked the dance scene too. I didn’t think they were so bad and anyway, so what if they were? They’re supposed to be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? They’re a couple of teenage kids, dorky and awkward and for a couple of minutes just having a tiny bit of fun in a bleak bleak world.
Edit to add, I missed the credits. Was that Leonard Cohen?
But the problem is, she did it without their knowledge or consent. Even the Dursleys got a full explanation from Harry about exactly why they had to go into hiding, and they had the assistance of the Order of the Phoenix instead of having to go off and hide themselves. Apparently, Hermione thinks even less of her own parents than Harry thinks of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia! :eek:
If that’s the case, then why didn’t she delete Sirius from Harry’s mind… or Cedric… or Harry’s parents? Somehow, I don’t think J.K. would advocate that course of action.
it seems that the order of the phoenix wasn’t protecting hermione’s parents. in the case of the dursleys the charm protected them as well as harry while he lived with them. when he turned 17 the protection was off of both of them.
in hermione’s case she had told her parents too much about harry. having a new identity and country protected them from riddle, along with the fact that if she died no one would restore the memories.
ron couldn’t hide his family, so he created the icky pox ridden ghoul to take his place.
From Order of the Phoenix, chapter 37:
Sounds exactly like Hermione’s — and J.K. Rowling’s — view of Mr. and Mrs. No-First-Name Granger to me.
“O Children” by Nick Cave.
The books were long enough as they were, did you want to include her trips to Coney Island? 
I think folks are reading waaay too much into it. It’s a STORY, it’s supposed to evoke an emotion: How would you feel if, to keep them safe, you had to erase your parent’s memories of you?
Not “What an evil psycobitch she is to treating them dismissively!”
I’ve never mentioned my childhood cat in these forums (Mitten), doesn’t mean I didn’t love her.
It was done that way in the film because it was a really powerful moment. It managed to convey a huge amount of information in a short amount of time and carried a great emotional payload.
I do wonder what they would have thought about having a lot of pictures of poorly framed scenery on their mantle and end tables.
I questioned the insertion of the dance scene which wasn’t in the book. Was that supposed to be a set-up for the horcrux destruction scene where Voldemort tortures Ron? In a movie that required a lot of scenes to be cut it seems strange to insert stuff that isn’t in the book.
For Hermione’s oblivating her parents, would it help people to pretend she discussed all options with them and they agreed that this action was for the best? She only obliviated them behind their backs so they wouldn’t call the police about the burglar chick in their living room.
Or that she *thinks *she’s doing the right thing, because she knows freaking everything. She’s supposed to be 17 years old and bright to boot, after all.
I liked the dancing scene because it was a quick way of showing that Hermione was sad and Harry was trying to cheer her up but the locket was making him sad too, and he missed Ron too and even though she tried to be happy, or at least coping, she was still missing Ron and that bloody locket was depressing her too. And there was nothing going on between her and Harry beyond simple friendship and Ron was a git for being jealous, but it was probably made worse by the locket anyway.
Just as a serious addendum, Ron was only jealous of Harry and Hermione while he was in the presence of the locket. Was that spelt out in the movie after he destroyed the Horcrux, or was it just left to the audience to work out?