Today’s Film: Twilight
Hit theaters in November 2008
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Notable Stars: Kristen Stewart (Isabella “Bella” Swan),
Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen) and Cam Gigandet (James)
Here is a link to Twilight’s IMDB page
My Rating – * * * 1/2 (out of a possible 5 stars)
Synopsis: Awkward, but unique Isabella Swan moves to the ever overcast town of Forks, Washington to live with her father. Upon arrival she is welcomed by a colorful cast of individuals but seems to only have eyes for pale, attractive Edward Cullen. A love story follows with a few updated horror motifs.
Awkwardness that feels like home
Twilight is a movie about teenage love. I guess the major difference between teenage love and adult love is that during teenage love we are less mature and in a more awkward stage of our lives. Right? Wrong. I haven’t been a teenager for over 7 years now and I can tell you that love, in my experience, always makes you feel like a 16 year old experiencing an awkward stage.
Twilight does an awesome job of relaying this awkwardness in large part via Kristen Stewart’s hesitations, facial expressions and apprehensive body language. Sometimes I could have sworn I was watching myself perform uncomfortable flirting. In some ways, Robert Pattinson is what all teenage girls want; a strong, sure of himself man who can make you feel protected. But R.P. also does an excellent job of relaying confusion and unease on his face at times, reminding us of the discomfort we feel when even our usually solid lovers feel wayward.
Relatable Longing…
Perhaps one of the reasons Twilight was so popular is that its feeling of ‘longing’ is so ubiquitous. Watch the characters’ faces in this film. Some of them appear to be in constant pain waiting for a longing to cease inside them. In this way, it’s difficult to not find a character you can relate to. I like these people. I can relate to Bella’s longing for meaningful love and comfort. I can relate to Edward’s longing for something special in the mundane fog that usually envelops and taunts him. I can relate to the crush that seems to spread across Jacob’s face for Bella and his dislike for Edward. I can even relate to James’ primal need to just be who he is, and experience the splendid ‘tastes’ that life has to offer.
Do attractive people + attractive scenery = worthwhile film?
Any true movie connoisseur knows that the above equation is usually total crap. This is part of the problem with Hollywood now a days. A glossy, plastic finish is covering most of their feature films. There in lies some danger. None of us ‘normal’ everyday people can live up to these ridiculous standards of perfect hair, perfect bodies and perfect clothes. But, at the same time, isn’t it a world that you enjoy curling up into?
Not that everyone in Twilight is a typical Hollywood, perfect type, but the whole package sure does look better than my high school experience did. Sometimes, when watching Twilight, I was able to envision the scenes as halfway transparent cells that I could lay directly over top of my high school experience to make it more fulfilling. I know none of this makes this film worth watching from a writing standpoint, but sometimes the way a movie makes us feel is more important than whether or not it is a work of art.
…but the book was better…
Ahh, yes, the never-ending battle between book and film? I myself read. Lately I wish I was reading more often, but I have had many experiences where I’ve soaked up both a novel and its movie equivalent. I’m sure that I speak for most of us when I say, ‘the book is usually better’. Now in Twilight’s case – here is where I lose some of my meager list of readers- I think the movie was better.
Now let me explain. I feel that the novel was aimed at teenage girls, and while this is completely acceptable and obvious, it did not work for me. I could barely make it through a quarter of the book. In my opinion, the movie took all of the sufficient elements out of the novel and placed them on the screen- another reason why the movie was so successful. Gentlemen, check out the movie if you want, but skip the book.
How convenient
Twilight does perform a horror movie ‘no no’ that will turn off old-fashioned, horror junkies. Stephenie Meyer needed to place a love story, with vampires, into a normal day at high school. Notice a problem? A normal ‘day’ at high school. Daytime requires sun and vampires are not big fans of sunlight. So in order to accomplish this she decided to rewrite a few horror movie staples to fulfill her own selfish needs.
In Twilight, vampires + sun = sparkle sticker skin. You have got to be kidding me! Somehow, Edward has just become 70% less intimidating and more relatable to…oh, I don’t know… say my little ponies. Perhaps more blasphemous, the entire vampire concept just became less tragic. One of the reasons we feel sympathy for vampires is that they will never again see the sun rise or set. Now they don’t need to worry about bursting into flames and ash as soon as the rays of sun hit their skin, they simply have to worry about looking like a nightclub dancer who really overdid the body glitter.
Wrap-up
All-in-all Twilight will leave you feeling sufficiently fed if not satiated. Though there are some very flat and annoyingly uninspired performances (example: Victoria), even the cast of supporting characters leaves you smiling and thinking, ‘oh yeah, I know her’ (example: Jessica).
Perhaps most important, as a horror movie Twilight fails (see glitter vampire skin), but as an angst filled, modern day, teenage romance it works. You 
can’t help but wish that more people like Edward or Bella existed in your own life. Plus, who isn’t at least a little starved for romance? Tell me your heart didn’t react just a little when Edward put Bella’s feet on top of his so they could dance.
New Moon
To read my new review of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the sequel to Twilight, click on this link —> New Moon Movie Review (2009).
3 Comments
June 8, 2009 at 2:28 am
Hhmmmm… so this is what the movie was about. I know all the tweens and teens and everyone else and their grandmother really loved this movie, the book, and most likely the sequel that is suppose to come.
June 9, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I agree with your assessment of the movie. I was excited to watch the movie because all of the hype about it. It wasn’t as good as I expected but not bad.
December 22, 2009 at 1:15 am
You know, I have a friend who probably would agree with you. She hated the movie, but loved Robert Pattinson, and thinks she is more of a Twi-fan than I am. I, however, this Catherine Hardwicke did everything correctly, and pieced everything together quite nicely. I, personally, would’ve rate the movie a ****1/2 out of *****, but thats just me. Though I TOTALLY agree with the awkwardness.
Interesting point of view though, I must say.