Miriam Margolyes

Not the stodgy costume drama it may appear to be...To Bening's triumph, the audience can only love Julia, warts and all, by picture's end.

Doesn't quite click on all levels, and the story and character development feels truncated, but there's still plenty to enjoy about its weird occurrences.

Thematically, like any good myth, the Harry Potter story comes full circle, with a heroic homecoming and the promise of more adventures, if only in our imaginations.