By now, reviewing the latest Harry Potter movie feels a bit like reviewing Coca-Cola. No matter what you say, it’s going to conquer the world. So I’m pleased to report that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2—a movie far brisker than its title—ends the whole series on a high note.
When we last saw Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint), they were in a bit of a pickle. The demonically noseless Lord Voldemort, played with complex conviction by Ralph Fiennes, had gained control of the awesome Elder Wand (lightning bolts from the sky, etc.), rendering him more powerful than ever. The trio’s only hope of stopping him is by destroying all the dark magical objects known as horcruxes (if you’ve never heard that word, by the way, this movie’s not for you). Their attempt to do this ultimately leads them back to where Harry’s saga truly began, Hogwarts, now run by sinister Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). Searching for a horcrux hidden somewhere in the school, Harry prepares for his final showdown with the dark lord, who is his alter ego, if not his secret sharer.
Now, it’s always tricky to wrap up any kind of epic saga, be it Lost or The Lord of the Rings, the final hour of which felt about twice as long as the Middle Ages. But screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates (who also worked together on the previous three movies) have saved their best for last. Deathly Hallows 2 achieves a marvelous blend of action and genuine feeling that captures what people love about **J.K. Rowling’**s books without ever feeling draggy or dutiful. Indeed, one of the single hardest sequences to pull off—the kaleidoscopic flashback in which Harry learns the truth about Snape, Dumbledore, and his own relation to Voldemort—becomes a triumphant piece of pop storytelling charged with emotional weight.
In fact, the whole final hour—as the story races toward its inevitable conclusion, with all the longed-for killings and kisses—takes on the special resonance that comes from our sense of passing time. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint were just kids back in 2001 when they launched the franchise with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Ten years later they’ve all grown up—heck, Watson’s now on thecover of Vogue— and so have Potter’s original fans. Near the end of the film, when Harry, Hermione, and Ron stand quietly outside the badly damaged Hogwarts—the school that was once the center of their lives—it’s not only these characters’ childhoods that we’re leaving behind.
If you’re looking for real life fantasy, you won’t want to miss **Errol Morris’**s riveting new documentary Tabloid. It’s the juicy story of onetime American beauty queen Joyce McKinney, who got in trouble back in the seventies when she reportedly kidnapped and raped (!) a Mormon missionary in England. She had a big, gaudy London trial and became a tabloid sensation. Of course, by now we’ve had it up to here with highly-publicized loonies, but believe me, McKinney isn’t just an enchanting talker, she’s a star-spangled original in the craziest sense of the term. Her story has everything, from sex, lies, and videotape, to sleazy British journalists and even (no fooling) clones. Why, it’s almost enough to give luridness a good name.