Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Written by Melissa Rosenberg
Based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer
Novel Published 10-05-05
Film Released 11-21-08
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| Bella, Edwards and the Cullen family |
I'll be the first to admit that I was once afraid of the things that go bump in the night. But just like Pixar's Monster's Inc., first-time author Stephenie Meyer turned the subject of terrible monsters into something laughable. Bella and Edward begin an "epic" love-at-first-sight romance as the two struggle between their differences - she's the new girl in town, he's a bloodsucking vampire; she's a Pisces, he's a 100-year-old undead being; etc.
It may not come to any surprise that the film adaptation was primarily targeted towards little girls (of all ages), to relate with the lonely, outcast, average-looking girl Bella (Kristen Stewart), to swoon over and be romanced by the bad boy, troubled, "Adonis" Edward (Robert Pattinson). Naturally, as a heterosexual male in my mid-20s, my instincts kicked in to just ignore the film or simply grimace anytime two or more girls began clucking over Edward or Jacob - Bella's other hottie boy-toy who happens to be a werewolf played by Taylor Lautner.
But a short verbal critique of a fellow writer (who, yes, happens to be a girl) convinced me to at least try the story, "tragic Romeo and Juliet-esque tale, dueling families over a beautiful girl, werewolves versus vampires, etc." Now, I'm down to give ol' Billy Shakes a fair shot, and I've always had a certain fascination with mythological creatures - usually of Greek heritage, but Harry Potter had successfully convinced me that werewolves are cool, too.
So I borrowed a friend's copy of the book, rented the audio CDs from the library, and gave the story and characters their fair shot at winning me over - without pretty boys glistening in the sunlight to distract me.
The story of these characters from Forks "no-wheres-ville", Washington is a decent one. A unique family of vampires have learned to control their hunger by merely feeding on animal blood, "like a human surviving on tofu - nutritious enough, but never quite satisfying." Edward Cullen is a lonely old man in a young, handsome body who finally meets his soul mate in Bella Swan. She's a 17-year-old girl who decides to live with her father in Forks when her mother and step-father move away from Phoenix to Florida. Also smitten by Bella, Jacob Black is a 15-year-old Native American from the local Reservation whose kooky father believes the Cullens were the original vampires that his father the Chief banished from the Reservation decades ago.
While the tale of Twilight has some potential, the writing of Meyer leaves quite a bit to be desired. Or does it? Little did I know that when I picked up this novel that I was about to begin an incredibly journey into my first piece of female erotic literature... for teens. Saved from the ridiculous euphemisms and innuendo, I was still enveloped in a sea of "he was gorgeous and still, like a Greek god" at least three times per chapter - sometimes three times per paragraph! The prose was inundated with simplistic imagery of Edward (along with the rest of his vampire family). The descriptions were relatively unimaginative and too few in variation, yet remained the main ingredient of the novel. Granted, the novel was written in first person perspective of Bella. "What else should I have expected," I asked myself every few minutes.
So finally, out of mere curiosity, I rented the film on Blu-ray. Having absorbed the story, survived the female inner-monologue writing, I felt I owed it to myself and you - my readers - to make a final, educated review of Twilight.
As to be expected of each and every book-to-film adaptation, much of the story was omitted, repatched or butchered. The special effects of the wire-work vampire superspeedy running and vampire superstrength using prop treetrunks were campy and poorly executed. The performances of the secondary cast greatly outmatched the melodramatic "pause for effect" style of the lead performers. The visual design and palette of the film worked quite well, as per the book's description - gloomy and rainy. The action and fighting scenes at the end of the film were slightly campy as well. But I find that, since the days of the old B-movies of Dracula, Frankenstein and zombies, monster attacks on humans have always been more campy than seriously scary, simply in order to show a closeup of the makeup, fangs, blood, etc. Otherwise, you end up with overly gory, shockingly frightening films like 28 Days Later.
The only question that remains is whether I will read or watch the second installment Twilight: New Moon. My answer: If I ever want to figure out to which team I belong - Edward or Jacob (or my write-in nomination of "Neither") - a viewing in the near future is almost certain. But I suspect I'll have CCR's "Bad Moon On The Rise" on repeat until then.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
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