First of all, I did not read the book. I know if I don’t mention that I’ll get a slew of letters chastising me for not mentioning that Twilight is based on a series of novels penned by Stephenie Meyer. The books have sold millions worldwide and have helped to rekindle the lost art of reading in today’s digital crazed youth. So I have not read the novels. This review is from the viewpoint of an avid movie viewer.

Now that the disclaimer is out the way let’s talk celluoid, shall we?



Twilight opens with a young girl named Bella (Kristen Stewart) who is temporarily moving in with her dad (Billy Burke) in Forks, Washington while her mom (Sarah Clarke) and step-dad (Matt Bushell) relocate to Florida. Bella isn’t particularly psyched to move to the rainy woods of Forks nor is she looking forward to being the new girl at school. But Bella’s transition goes a lot smoother than expected. She makes some new friends, reunites with old friends and even gets a new car. Well, it’s new for her, anyway.

Bella notices a small yet fascinating clique of students. Her classmates explain that the town doctor, Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli) and his wife, Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), adopted the kids. They’re the coolest elite group in the school. And when Bella catches the eye of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) everyone takes notice and life gets a lot more thrilling.

There’s really not much to spoil here. Even if you’re not into vampires you can tell from the trailers that Bella and Edward are bound to hook up and that a lot of complications are going to arise in the relationship. So what makes this forbidden romance worth checking out? Well, for starters, there’s Kristin Stewart. I remember this young actress playing Jodie Foster’s daughter in Panic Room and I remember being impressed with her subdued performance. Stewart, again, injects her character with so much depth and insight and maturity that I had to constantly keep reminding myself that Bella is supposed to be a teenager. Why can’t more teens be as cerebrally compelling as Bella? Anyway, Stewart’s portrayal of a girl experiencing a new and unusual love is the solid foundation of Twilight. It’s so obvious why Edward takes a shine to her.


Kristen Stewart as Bella

Ah yes, Edward Cullen. The vampire hunk that steals the heart, but hopefully not the blood, from young Bella. Edward is played by Robert Pattinson. Okay, well, he’s a 17 year old like 40 times over. He’s a little more moody and emotionally intense than his siblings. It also seems he had a real thing for the new wave ‘80s look. I kept waiting for him to break into a rendition of “Hungry Like the Wolf”. At other times, he looked like one of those cool anime guys. You know, the mysterious alpha male character with the slim build, the incredible hair, and the shifty eyes (kind of like Vampire Hunter D or a bi-polar Tuxedo Mask). It was a little hard to believe at times that the girls thought this pale kid with overdone eyebrows and an unlimited supply of hair gel was a major catch.

Okay, all humor aside, I thought that Pattinson did a decent job of conveying the tumultuous sensations welling up in his soul. He wants Bella both as a companion and a meal and Pattinson portrays that well enough. I saw Edward’s struggle to hold back his thirst, his anxiety to be alone with Bella, and his frustration with the fact that his relationship with the girl will always be fraught with danger because of what he is. Actually, Pattinson brings an unexpected awkwardness to Edward. Forget the suave tempter or the chivalrous undead knight kind of vampire we’ve seen in the past. Edward was actually a little creepy at first but as more of his character is revealed he becomes more personable.


Edward (Robert Pattinson) Getting All Choked Up

The rest of the Cullen crew included Elizabeth Reaser as “Mama Cullen”. Ms. Reaser did an incredible stint on Grey’s Anatomy playing a facial reconstruction patient that develops a major crush on Dr. Karev. Though her character, Esme, doesn’t get a lot of play in Twilight I was still happy to see her on the big screen. I imagine that when Peter Facinelli stepped out of the make-up trailer with blond hair and albino skin some people might have thought they were doing a different vampire movie. That’s because Facinelli, in make-up, looks like a near mirror image of Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire. The first shot of Carlisle Cullen made me do a double take. Maybe Carlisle and Lestat could do a buddy movie sometime?


Happy Homemakers Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) & Esme (Elizabeth Reaser)
 
The Cullen, er, children really are pretty cool and interesting. You already know about Edward but there’s also Alice (Ashley Greene) who has the ability to see the future. Greene is one of those actresses who I’ve probably seen in a bunch of shows and didn’t notice or she closely resembles another more established actress. Whatever the case I dug Alice. She was so sweet and perky and very hard to believe that she could be capable of chowing down on some poor mortal’s jugular. My next favorite was Rosalie who is definitely the supermodel in the family. Nikki Reed, who is a new face to me, portrays her. Rosalie has a special part in the story as the Cullen family member who openly disapproves of Edward and Bella’s relationship. She doesn’t see why the entire clan has to put their lives (or unlives, in this case) on the line to protect one measly mortal. That makes for some tense moments that spice up the story a bit. Rounding out the rest of the vamp family is Emmett played by Kellan Luntz and Jackson Rathbone as Jasper. I took Emmett as the older brother who is strong and very protective of his family. He’d probably be the next leader of the pack should anything happened to Carlisle. Oh and Jasper. Described as the one that always looks like he’s in pain, Jasper is kind of the weak link in the chain so he’s probably treated as the sickly baby in the family.


The Cullen Kids: Emmett (K. Luntz), Rosalie (N. Reed), Alice (A. Greene) & Jasper (J. Rathbone)
 
I’m now realizing that Twilight had a lot more characters than I realized. I’d rather not write a novel sized review detailing each character so I’ll just share about the ones that caught my eye.
The first shout-out goes to Anna Kendrick who I was so extremely jazzed to see as one of Bella’s new friends, Jessica. Kendrick starred in a little 2003 picture called Camp. Before there was High School Musical there was Camp and that cast had so many talented kids that I knew I’d start seeing them either on the big screen or on stage eventually. And now here’s Ms. Kendrick in a major blockbuster. Very cool. I also liked Justin Chon who plays another of Bella’s fellow classmates, Eric. I was so happy to see a character of Asian descent. I know that shouldn’t be an issue but for me I think there is a significant lack of Asian representation in big movies like this let alone African American or Latino characters. And Chon gave Eric so much flair and charisma with just a touch of goofiness. And I loved Eric’s clothes. I think his first scene introduced him in a shirt and tie. Class in class, I love it!

And while I’m on the “under-represented minorities” issue I also have to say that I loved Jacob Black played by the extremely handsome Taylor Lautner. Jacob and Bella were childhood pals back in the day and now they’re all teened up and full of raging hormones. I’m probably overreacting but I think Jacob has some strong feelings for Bella that exceed the friendship line. Still, Jacob respects the relationship between her and Edward though he doesn’t much trust the guy. Jacob is a member of the Quileute Tribe and there is a Quileute legend that tells of some fabled meeting between the tribe and Cullens’ ancestors. Whether that’s myth or not remains to be seen (hint: it ain’t myth) but Jacob is wary of Edward and very concerned for Bella’s safety.

Then there are the villains. Two vampire troublemakers make things very stressful for Bella and The Cullens. James (Cam Gigandet) is a master hunter who seems to thirst more for the tracking than the kill and Victoria (Rachelle Leferve) who is just as vicious. The third member of the group is Laurent (Edi Gathegi) who is a little less evil than the other two teammates. Now that I’m thinking about it and pouring over my mental picture of James and Victoria I swear they bear a small resemblance to Anne Rice’s character, Lestat, and his mother, Gabrielle. James has the long blonde hair and slender appearance that Lestat was described as having in Rice’s novels. Victoria seemed to have that same free spirited and rebellious nature that Gabrielle exhibited in the “Lestat” novel including her long and wild blonde hair. I’m not chanting “copycat” here but merely stating that James and Victoria triggered an unexpected “literary recall” in my brain. Both “Jimmy” and “Vicki” were very cool and scary in a beautiful way.


Vamps of Three, Let Them Be: James (C. Gigandet), Laurent (E. Gathegi) & Victoria (R. Leferve)

Special effects were okay. I know there’s been some flack about the effects being less than Star Wars worthy but I felt they were fitting for this kind of movie. It’s funny how people complain about the computer effects looking fake and now the on-set practical effects, such as in Edward’s running sequences, are also too fake. New flash! Special effects are fake. That being said, the only effect I found weak was Edwards’s natural skin. I like that the vampires have sparkly skin in the sunlight but I thought that particular visual could’ve used a lot more glitter. But I think the filmmakers didn’t want to overdo that effect. Instead of a walking mirror ball they gave Edward a more subtle coating of shimmering scales that would still disturb the norms. Besides, the movie was supposed to be focused on the romance and the ripples caused by that romance. Too many unnecessary effects would’ve made the story sag.

'Phew'! I think that’s it. Yes, I think I’ve gushed nearly everything I wanted to gush about this movie without spoiling most of the plot secrets. Again, I did not read the novel so I don’t know what was changed or what was missing or which book character(s) got axed from the screenplay. As an ordinary movie goer I think Twilight was a decent entry into the “beauty falls for beast” catalog. Twilight has enough interesting characters and tweaks to the vampire lore to make it stand out from the bunch. I think viewers might be surprised at how mature the film is. I was thinking I was going to be sitting through some glorified version of One Tree Hill. Some might’ve been disappointed at the lack of eye popping stunts and soundtrack laden montages but I was digging the sober and mature treatment of the material.


Catherine Hardwicke (Director), K. Stewart, and Stephenie Meyer (Author of the Twilight novels)


While the story was captivating on it’s own I must, again, give an extra portion of credit to Kristin Stewart. The last time I was this wowed by a young actress like this was when Ellen Page starred as Juno. If you like vampires and romances with a gothic flavor then this is one to check out.

www.twilightthemovie.com