Harry Potter Deathly Hallows: Book to Movie

Clutching my brand-new book, just after midnight on 7/21/07.

THEN...
 
Four years ago today I was exactly one week from a Midnight Magic party at the Barnes and Noble up the block from my house. I had one question on my mind:  

Who will die?

I wasn't alone. All of us who had kept up with the Harry Potter stories knew what the prophecy said - one had to die so that the other could live - it was either going to be Harry Potter or Voldemort. I am ever the optimist, so I was heavily anticipating that Harry would live, but as we got closer and closer to release day, the rumors were spinning, the leaks were dripping all over the Internet, and people were saying that Harry Potter was going to die in book seven! 

I thought about it as I waited and I said, "JK Rowling is genius. She has already killed Dumbledore and Sirius, perhaps this will all end tragically."

The fact of the matter was, I had no idea what to expect, AND THAT WAS VERY EXCITING. As I read each page I realized more and more that anything was possible. It was a true adventure of exhilaration.

And NOW...

Three nights ago, I prepared for a different kind of midnight magic. I was getting ready to see that story come to life on the screen. I no longer had the question of "Who will die?" in my head, because I knew that answer. I didn't worry about how I would get on after Harry Potter, because I knew that already. I didn't wonder if this would be a good movie, because I knew that already, too. However, now I wonder if I knew too much...

Here are some other things I knew before I saw the movie on Friday morning:

• I knew that the Harry Potter experience - reading the books, connecting with the characters and growing with them, touched me deeply page by page.
• I knew that I cried my heart out throughout book seven, not just for the characters in the story, but for JK Rowling. I was equally happy and sad for her, and wondered what the experience must have been like for her.
• I knew that through the battle at Hogwarts, JK Rowling brought to life the ferocity of spirit in so many characters. It became clear that any one of them could have easily had a book series written on them. I was happy that they each got their time in the spotlight.
• I knew, that in a couple of pages, JK Rowling turned my seven year distrust of a character into an unyielding love, adoration and appreciation.  I was floored. I was happy. My heart broke for all of the years of misunderstandings.
• I knew that by the end of the book I had received one message from JK Rowling loud and clear: LOVE is the most powerful magic of all and it is present in all our lives whether we are witches, wizards, muggles or some other creature. Harry Potter was a love story!

So why was this all "too much" for me to know. Well, put simply, I expected it all and one can never expect the same things from a movie that they get from a book. That is simply not the way it works. A movie is a visual reference for a book. It should convey the story and most of the emotion one feels when going through that story, but it can't, I think, provide it all. There are two simple reasons for this:

1. Once you have read the book, you already know the story, therefore, whatever feelings of surprise or discovery you experience during your reading will have been lost by the time you get around to seeing the film.
2. Books are extremely personal. You design the characters, the set, the tastes, the smells, well... all of the details in your own mind based on the descriptions you read.

I know this. I always know this. However, when I walked out of the Deathly Hallows Part 2 I was still slightly disappointed.  

Was it EPIC enough? Did the characters get their time to shine? Can the depth of Snape's story be fully comprehended by an audience that did not read the books? 

THESE are the questions that I am left asking. I know I will come to love this movie. I know I will see it again in the theater (perhaps this time in 3D!). For now, I am left wondering. This weekend I am a book lover, thirsty for that beautiful experience I had on the weekend of July 21, 2007 when I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  for the first time. It was epic. It was emotional. It was amazing. And what I now realize is: It was unique and not meant to be replicated.

Did you have a similar book to movie experience?

Did you see the movie before reading the book?