“Hot on the heels of Halloween, a magical treat of a movie on a big screen with a spellbindingly talented orchestra accompanying it”
It may have been 13 years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 hit cinemas but no refresher course was needed at the Royal Albert Hall last Friday.
We all know the storyline – Harry and his friends are back, battling villains and protecting Hogwarts for the final time from Voldemort himself. After seven books and eight feature length films, it all comes down to this.
The thrilling final instalment of the series was projected onto a high-definition screen that put the audience in the middle of the action, whilst Alexandre Desplat’s music was brought to life by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the English Chamber Choir.
Conductor Justin Freer introduced proceedings at the start of the concert, as he did this time last year when the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was screened at the same venue. I also reviewed that instalment. Just like last year Freer did a perfectly good job of the intro, and knows how to speak to a crowd with the right level of confidence to make people look forward to the evening ahead. But to reiterate what I wrote in my review that time, the concert would really benefit from a separate ‘special guest’ introduction given by someone who was directly involved in the movie. No disrespect to Freer; he’s very adept at carrying out an intro to a concert such as this. But to really enhance it and give it a proper ‘event’ feel, imagine someone like Tom Felton or the Phelps twins or Helena Bonham Carter saying a few words beforehand. Now that truly would be special.
As usual the orchestra and choir performed with precision and finesse. They added depth and emotion to what is already an exciting score. Scenes such as the one where Harry, Ron and Hermione escape Gringotts bank on the back of a dragon and fly over the London skyline were amplified in quality by the presence of a live orchestra.
An enjoyable element of watching a Film in Concert is seeing which parts of the film garner a big public reaction. The famous line “Not my daughter, you bitch!” spoken by Mrs Weasley in this film is an iconic one. When I saw this film in my local cinema in 2011 the audience went wild at this line. Everybody was waiting for it and there was a loud cheer when Mrs Weasley finally said it, followed by a round of applause a moment later when she finished off Bellatrix Lestrange for good. It was a special cinematic moment to be part of, especially considering how restrained Brits are known for being in the cinema. We don’t even rustle our M&M packets during a quiet lull in a movie, let alone cheer at a pivotal moment. I therefore hoped the “Not my daughter…” line would receive the same reaction this time around, but alas it did not. It did conjure up a small cheer, but I guess this time nobody was hearing it for the first time. So the cheer did not have the spontaneity and excitement as the one in my local cinema all those years ago. But what was truly special this time around was the audience reaction to Dame Maggie Smith, in light of her recent passing. Her cheeky “I’ve always wanted to use that spell” line was met with heartfelt applause, and when her name came up in the end credits the audience gave her a standing ovation. It is these moments which make Films in Concert unique.
Films in Concert is a hugely popular genre which continues to grow as each year goes by. It is by no means a new concept and has been around for several years. But it is the kind of live experience many film fans hear about; realise is up their street and want to book tickets for. But many end up ‘putting it on their list’ and it becomes 50/50 whether they ever actually get organised and book tickets. Some never get round to it and therefore miss out. Others like myself do eventually get round to it and wish they had done it sooner. I first heard of the concept in the early noughties when I saw the film ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ at the cinema with friends and commented afterwards how enjoyable the score by Hans Zimmer was. One friend replied that you could actually go and see popular movies with thrilling scores performed by actual live orchestras. Despite knowing it was right up my street and something I wanted to explore, it was nearly 20 years before I actually got around to seeing a Film in Concert for myself in 2022. I have since seen three Films in Concert (once the bug bites, the fever sets in) and in this short time I have seen the appeal for the genre grow considerably. More and more venues are getting in on the action, so it is important to choose wisely and go for the best if you are to really enjoy the experience. And if you are wondering what constitutes “the best”, the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra most definitely fit into this category.