My Love Affair with Ron Weasley

Ok, so it's more of an imaginary love affair. Particularly as Ron Weasley is a fictional character, but, there it is. I love Ron Weasley.

Technically, this is Rupert Grint, but I love him too!


Don't worry, I'm not (totally) crazy. I just think the red haired best friend of Harry Potter doesn't get enough loving. So, to start off my post about the latest Harry Potter movie, I would declare my love for one Ronald Weasley.

Now that that's out of the way...onto discussing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. My sister and I went to watch the movie a few weeks ago now (on one of my many snow days) and I've been meaning to write about it for awhile but between snow days and working two jobs and it being, you know, Christmas, I've been busy!

I thought Deathly Hallows Part 1 was really well done and perfectly captured the dark atmosphere of the seventh story. The kids are growing up and facing things that no seventeen year old (magical or otherwise) should ever deal with. Anyone who has grown up with the story or is totally and completely obsessed with it will know what it was like to watch the intense scenes and get goosebumps. I remember tons of people (myself included) actually getting shivers from just the trailer! Rowling is a genius storyteller and I think the actors were able to perfectly capture what she was trying to describe in the novels. 


Emma Watson = amazing

 
One of my favourite scenes actually came at the very beginning of the movie. In the book, Hermione erases the memory of her parents to make sure they are not in any danger if they are ever interrogated by the dark wizards. This is just explained to Harry and Ron after the fact, but in the movie, they actually show her taking the memories from her mom and dad. I thought it was just so much more powerful to see this happening instead of just hearing about it later. My sister, on the other hand, didn't like it. But, this blog is about my thoughts, not hers! :)

Another scene that perfectly illustrates the fact that the characters (and actors) are growing up, is when Ron has to destroy the necklace. It is such an evil object that it manifests itself into everything that Ron is dreading, is jealous of, or is scared of. It was just an incredible amount of dark feelings (which we knew from the book) but Grint was able to really make us feel for him and then have us feeling happy/proud/impressed when he is able to finally destroy the Horcrux. It is a shining moment for Ron Weasley and I'm pleased with the way it was done in the movie. Is it any wonder I totally love this character?

It was sort of surprising (but it shouldn't have been) that some characters were barely in the movie. For example, Neville had a grand total of one scene and one line, and we only see Draco, Snape and Luna a couple of times. Part of that feeling probably came from the fact that I didn't know exactly where they were going to split the movie. My sister made a good point and said that they should have ended it as soon as they got to the Malfoy manor. I think that would have made a pretty powerful ending. The snatchers get Harry, Ron, and Hermione and then show up to the house with the grand gate in front of them, and then it ends. Intense, no?

Doesn't this give you chills?

I'm already looking forward to the next installment. I have a feeling I may lose it a few times and start crying when some very important characters die. I think that the final two films really gave the actors the chance to grow and tackle some very tough story lines. They have always been great, don't get me wrong, but since they've all spent so much time with these characters and have grown as actors, the performances were just that much more powerful.

I hope this post wasn't too rambling or off topic. Once I get started on Harry Potter, it's hard to stop! I also didn't want to give too much of the movie away. Besides, I'm not all about the typical "reviews." Hopefully I've convinced some of you non-Harry Potter people to at least watch the movies (how have you stayed away from something this amazing for so long?)

Enjoy the last few shopping days before Christmas, and good luck to my fellow retail salespeople. We'll get through the madness. I hope to write another Christmassy post before the actual holiday creeps up on me (by the way, anyone else totally surprised that Christmas is NEXT WEEKEND? Eek!). Have a great week everyone! :)