Twilight

Starring: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Written by: Melissa Rosenberg based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer

Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke

I want to start this review by saying I have never read any of the novels. After hearing all the hype I was going to try them out eventually. But this review is based on one who had VERY little knowledge of the story. I understood that Cedric from Harry Potter was a vampire and that it was a forbidden love story of some kind but that was about it.

That being said, it was more of a romance than I thought it was going to be but not nearly as melodramatic as it could have been. Towards the beginning of the film, I was very worried I was about to watch Dawson’s Creek with vampires.

Luckily it evolved past that to make something a bit more unique, but it really only scratched the surface of the world I wanted to see…many times over.

The basic gist of the story is that Bella moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father and meets the very aloof Edward Cullen. Along the way Edward saves her from a truck running her down with superhuman speed and strength. Soon enough she learns he’s a vampire (albeit a “vegetarian” who eats only animal blood) and he lets her into his world, despite some misgivings from some of his kin.

That actually makes for the most unique portions of the film. When Edward brings Bella home, it is an almost macabre moment as the family is trying to cook for her despite their own eating preferecnes. The very seriousness of how it’s taken makes the scene work well despite it’s somewhat absurd notion.

As a sidebar, there is another coven of vampires who are not “vegetarians” nearby and they take a liking to Bella when they learn that she is under Edward’s protection. James especially thinks of it as a great challenge. His girlfriend, Victoria goes along with him while their more civilized companion Laurent.

It is at this point that the story explodes out of Dawson’s Creek into a suspense film as the Cullen clan races to protect Bella and her father as James tries to track her down and make her a snack.

The whole story is well crafted andI have the feeling that the novel is even more so. The film concentrates on the relatiinship between Edward and Bella and unfortunately sacrifices development on Bella’s former best friend Jacob Black…just hinting at Black’s tribe’s distinction of being werewolves. It must be a focus of the second film to mention it so slightly rather than cut it out.

Furthermore the Cullen clan could be fascinating but we don’t get to know them beyond their names and a few of their abilities. Specifically the father figure, Carlisle is someone I’d like to get to know more of.

Speaking of Carlisle, quick aside I had a hard time with Peter Facinelli in the role. It may be personal but I still see him as the bastard jock from Can’t Hardly Wait. So to see him in the role of a 300 year old father figure…a little difficult.

With that in mind I’m betting the novel is a little more in depth and therefore a more worthy story. I can’t say I disliked the film…I just felt there was a lot more that could/should have been developed.

I will say that what they did concentrate on was well done. Pattinson proved himself quite capable of a nuanced performance just as Kirsten Stewart provided a very real and grounded Bella. But everyone else was unfortunately window dressing.

C+