‘Twilight’ Quenches Thirst

I won’t deny it: I am a Twilighter. I ravenously read all four of Stephanie Meyer’s page-turners, better known as the Twilight series. When I heard that a movie was in the works, my heart skipped a beat. Would they cast it right? Would the chemistry be right? Would the characters look like I imagined?  

It’s a feeling that I’m sure many Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fans felt when they first learned of the films. Somehow, a book that you love can become something that you’re very protective of, like a diary or a memory, and it can become almost private and secret. It’s hard not to feel personally invested; there’s a lot at stake when a favorite book gets made into a movie.

I have to admit that I wasn’t optimistic. The trailers for the movie are spastic and ill-formed, probably designed to target an audience of 12-year old girls who shop at Hot Topic. I wasn’t sure about the choice of the very pretty Kristen Stewart (Panic Room, Into the Wild) to play the clumsy Bella Swan. I was worried that the movie would lose the love story amidst the action-packed scenes that dominated the trailer.

But boy, was I wrong. Twilight was surprisingly good.

Twilight is a classic tale of forbidden love.

Bella, a shy and clumsy high school girl from Arizona, moves to small town Forks, Wash., to live with her father. As Bella starts settling in to her new life in Forks, she becomes enthralled with the Cullens, a “foster family” of five devastatingly beautiful, pale-faced (you guessed it) vampire teenagers.  She falls in love with Edward, the ridiculously handsome Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter).  

But the Cullens aren’t ordinary vampires. They don’t feast on human blood, but have decided to live a “vegetarian” lifestyle, surviving off animal blood instead and trying to blend in with the mortal population of Forks. The Cullens aren’t the only vampires in town though, and the villainous nomadic vampires James, Victoria and Laurent throw the small town of Forks for a loop.

This film was definitely made for the fans of the book, sometimes even quoting lines between Bella and Edward directly from the novel. Die-hard Twilighters will appreciate the brief cameo by Twilight author, Stephanie Meyer.

The chemistry that Stewart and Pattinson have is undeniable (although, I propose that Pattinson could have chemistry with a brick wall). Stewart surprised me in this film, especially since she’s relatively new to Hollywood and this was her first starring role as an adult. She portrayed Bella as complex and multi-dimensional.

Robert Pattinson was exactly what I had pictured Edward Cullen to be: beautiful, secretive, haunted and yet charming. I’ve read a lot about how seriously Pattinson took this role, and the character development he did definitely showed. Immediately drawn to the scent of Bella’s blood, yet ironically madly in love with his prey, Pattinson showed great depth as an actor by walking that fine line.

The make-up artists did a really great job with Pattinson’s character, his deep red lips juxtaposed by pale white skin. Unfortunately, some of the other characters weren’t as lucky with make-up and costume. Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob, wore a very obvious wig, and Dr. Carlisle Cullen (played by Peter Facinelli) looked almost cartoonish in his vampire make-up.  

The movie was cast well on the whole, and the high school students portrayed actually looked like high school students. Director Catherine Hardwicke proves that she can portray casual and real high school experience just as well as she did in Thirteen in 2003.

The villains, however, came off as wooden and one-dimensional. Cam Gigandet, who plays James, the nomadic vampire who develops an unquenchable thirst for Bella’s blood, doesn’t quite fit the part.

The film runs about two hours, but time flies when you’re having fun. The story really moves and doesn’t dwell in one place too long. I would have liked to see more of the courtship between Bella and Edward. The film, unlike the book, glosses over the long, drawn-out sexual tension between the main characters.

Director Catherine Hardwicke did some really beautiful things visually, as well.  The scenes of Edward showcasing his amazing speed with Bella on his back, practically flying through woody forests and stopping only to perch atop trees, is particularly reminiscent of the book.  

Twilight will certainly appeal to fans of the books and fans of the vampire genre in general, and it will leave audiences hungry for more.