Review of Twilight
Best Selling Adult Non-fiction Book Brought to Silver Screen
Fans of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, the story of forbidden lovers, one human and the other vampire waited nearly three years for the film version to be released. Finally, their wait is over. Twilight was released on November 21, 2008 and was an instant box-office hit, earning $69.6 million on its opening weekend according to BoxOffice.com.
It stars two young but rising stars of Hollywood. Robert Pattinson, who cut his acting teeth in 2005 as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, plays Edward, the intensely brooding vampire-teen. Kristen Stewart plays Edward’s human, sweet-smelling love interest. Many fans recognize her as playing the sultry young neighbor in Sean Penn’s Into The Wild.
Twilight shows a different side of vampires. Rather than showing the sinister side the way films like The Lost Boys do, Twilight shows that the immortal creatures capable of living peacefully in a loving family.
A Forbidden Love Begins Between Edward and Bella
The story begins with Bella moving from Arizona to a small town in Washington named Forks. There she meets Edward, a strangely disposed 17-year-old who is highly sought by every female in the school.
Pattinson effectively portrays the ashen teen vampire who constantly battles not only teen angst but also the urge to attack humans and drink their blood. Edward and the other six vampires in his family refer to themselves as “vegetarians” whose diet consists of animal (not human) blood.
The truth about Edward is that he is over 100 years old and eternally travels the country matriculating in different high schools. While it`s hard to imagine that no teachers over the century have bothered to investigate this strange young student, making that plot point somewhat hard to swallow, the story behind the family, consisting of adopted vampires, is convincing enough.
The two characters first meet in Biology class, where Edward learns that his power to read minds doesn’t work on Bella. He manages to become infuriated and infatuated with her simultaneously, while also taking pleasure in her bewitching scent.
Stewart’s performance convinces audiences that she is in love with Edward, though her cool, calm demeanor is at odds with the overwhelming love she is meant to be feeling.
The Movie’s Pulse Takes a Few Minutes to Speed Up
Twilight starts slow with scene-after-scene of Edward and Bella giving each other “googly” eyes from a distance in the high school cafeteria or parking lot.
What is interesting is that it takes a divergence from the traditional vampire folklore choc-full-of garlic, crosses and holy water. When Edward reveals to Bella that he is a vampire, he shows what he really looks like in sunlight – skin that she describes as glittering like “diamonds.”
On the other hand, the scene when Edward tries to show his super-vampire-abilities by giving Bella a piggyback ride up a tree looks fake and almost humorous.
Twilight’s story grows exciting when three vampire strangers visit Fork and desire to feed on Bella. This forces Edward and the family to protect her and vanquish the others in a number of action-packed sequences.
Overall, the film was entertaining and exciting. It already has a sequel in the works based on Meyer’s second book, New Moon, which follows the couple through ongoing challenges in their relationship.
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