Twilight

Release Date 11.21.08

First of all I must admit that I am a 27-year old hardcore fan of the Stephenie Meyer series. With that said, even though I know the books are aimed at the tween and teen psyche, I still enjoyed the novels for they project nice old-fashioned morals without being preachy (Meyer is famous for being a Mormon who can write steamy heart-pounding intimate scenes) and they also bring to life a real vulnerability that all girls feel at some point throughout their lives. After having listened to 3 of the 4 audiobooks about 10 times apiece (I could not stand New Moon more than twice, too heart-wrenching) I figured I knew the characters and the stories so well that I believed they were truly a part of my family.

So, this hardcore fan fell into the whirlwind of media hype surrounding the highly anticipated release of the first book-to-movie adaptation of the series, "Twilight". I saw many many many videos and read many many many interviews and articles relating to Twilight the story, the casting, and the author's take on the screenplay. Needless to say there wasn't much of the actual movie left for me to see after my seemingly endless search for new material to obsess over, much to my friends' and family's chagrin.

While breathlessly waiting in line for over 6 hours to see Edward's skin "sparkle like diamonds" and the inevitable apprehensive kiss between vampire and human, I tried to convince myself to see the Thursday midnight showing without high expectations. And of course, the movie was not nearly as enjoyable as the book. I was disappointed by how choppy the flow of the film was, despite already knowing that major scenes would be cut during the final edit. But, I can sympathize with Melissa Rosenberg for trying to trim down a 500-pg novel into a 150-pg script, while keeping it at a 2 hour duration. However, a few feelings stirred within me that I did not expect. For example, during the most key points in the movie I felt awkward as an audience member and embarrassed for the cast; their lines were word-for-word sap straight from the book, or misconstrued in such a way that events seemed out of order or rushed just to get through them to move on to the next.

And I did not find the chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart heart-melting and gooey as it has been played up to be by the media. There were long awkward pauses as if they stars forgot their lines. Or such lines as, "and so the lion fell in love with the lamb" were forced out in a vomit-inducing deluge just to please the fans. The line was delivered by Pattinson with a matter-of-fact tone, rather than the aw-shucks nothing we can do now feeling you get when reading about the meadow scene. Ah, the meadow scene, don't even get me started on that befuddled mess.

Like I aforementioned, I am a Twilighter and of course purchased the movie companion as soon as it hit the shelves. Within in it, many secrets to the movie's look and appeal were spilled by Director Catherine Hardwicke (and others). She explains how the beloved meadow scene does not actually take place in a meadow, but in a small lighter-than-usual-wooded area outside of Forks HS because of weather and scheduling conflicts. However, there is a quick meadow glimpse with long sweeping camera shots that try to portray the sexual tension felt between a vampire and his victim-soul mate. It was just incongruous and a bit confusing, especially for someone who has read the book and envisioned the little white and yellow flowers in a small encircled field that Bella so aptly describes. And the "confessions" and revealing of each others' feelings was quick and dirty, not languid and syrupy as one would expect after reading the pages.

Despite my obvious distaste for some of the modifications to the plot, I will give the film Twilight a second chance now that I am aware of significant differences from the book and try to view it objectively for what it is. However, if you have not read the book and intend on seeing the movie fresh without any prior knowledge of the plot, DON'T. It will ruin any desires you may have had to pick up the 500-page novel, which I think is by far the best way to experience the Twilight world.


Rating: D+