I think it was telling that for the most part the entire theater was as silent as a chuch --except for the clapping at the end. The movie did a good job of following the book. Tthe story was gripping and evoked a full range of emotions. The actors did a wonderful job of bringing it all to life. I'm not sure anyone would be able to follow all the detail unless they had read the books and I would NOT recommend the movie to anyone until they had read the entire series of books -- too many details in question that would ruin the experience for them. But for a Harry Potter fan who had read the books, this is a wonderful movie. The only problem is that now we have to wait to see the end.