For some reason a lot of the tabloids walked away from screening Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 this week shouting “OMG Radcliffe and Watson so naked!” If you’re a discerning reader, that should really raise a couple of questions in your head. First, why the heck are tabloids being allowed into critics screenings and second, are they really naked? We can’t answer first one but here’s the answer to the second. They aren’t naked. Not at all.
Warning: Spoilers for the Deathly Hallows follow! Stop reading if you don’t want to know.
The scene in question occurs late in the film when Ron is forced to confront the contents of the Horcrux. It shows him his worst fear, a vision of naked Harry and naked Hermione locked in an embrace and totally snogging. Except well, they aren’t really that naked. You only see them from a little below the armpit up, in amidst a bunch of fog, and while it’s probably the most you’ll see if Emma Watson in the movie you see a lot more of Daniel Radcliffe in other parts of the film. The kid seems to take his shirt off at nearly every opportunity. I’m buying him a bottle of spray-tan for Christmas.
The thing is you don’t really even see any nudity and what’s more, as you’d expect, they weren’t even remotely naked while filming it. Emma Watson talked to MTV about the scene today and while they still insist on calling it a topless kiss, she made it pretty clear that’s not what it was at all. In fact she was wearing a strapless braw though the whole thing and, I think it’s safe to assume, a pair of pants as well. Here’s Emma explaining it for herself:
That doesn’t mean parents should be rushing to take young children to this thing, unless you’re the type who’s offended by nudity but doesn’t mind violence and death and all the other stuff that the MPAA usually doesn’t adjust their rating for at all. What am I saying? History shows that most parents, just as the MPAA doesn’t, don’t mind death and murder. So now that you know there’s no actual side-boob in the movie, you’re probably already buying tickets for your toddler. Carry on.
