Before you read my review, let me remind you that I am no film making professional. I am writing all these merely from an avid moviegoer’s point of view.
I watched Twilight three days after it opened in the theatres, expecting to be blown away. The trailers had been good, Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart look exquisite together, and both fit the roles of star-crossed lovers Edward and Bella quite perfectly. Of course, having read Twilight and New Moon, I already knew the plot and the characters by heart.
When I left the theatre roughly two hours later however, I was beginning to think that Rotten Tomatoes could have been right in giving the movie adaptation a 44% rating. No, the movie was not awful, it was creative in some parts actually, but there was something amiss. There were more than a few things which disappointed me really, and not least among them were the acting performances of Pattinson and Stewart.
Well, I have nothing against Pattinson and Stewart as Edward and Bella physically speaking, because their chemistry just sizzles on screen. But the acting was mediocre, and I could almost feel no intensity in the delivery of their lines. Pattinson was slurring his lines (maybe because he’s still practicing his American accent) and sadly, was not able to act as gracefully, as elegantly, or as mysteriously as the “Edward” so explicitly described in the book.
There were scenes in the film when he looked as klutzy as Bella- which is totally out of character because this 103 -year old vampire is supposed to be graceful as a cat and looking perpetually like a movie star. He is not human remember? He is a vampire with super powers, who has lived for at least a century. So please explain to me why Pattinson is acting like his character is just some average boy-next-door, albeit with porcelain skin and a flashy sports car.
Stewart had her lapses too, but since she’s young and because she’s playing the role of the human, Bella, I was more ready to forgive her. Besides, she’s always been described as aloof, clumsy, moody, and anti-social in the novel. With Pattinson however, I expected a whole lot more intensity, on a level that makes you feel terrified because he’s a bloodsucking immortal, but subdued enough to remind you that he is a gentleman who’s in love with a human girl. They should have picked an actor who was more ready to play the part, and not merely because he has jawbones to die for or a stare that could melt the ice caps off Mount Fuji.
Then there was the matter of bad makeup. During the course of the film, I kept repeating to myself “They’re vampires; they’re supposed to be pale”. The fact however, that they were too-powdery pale made me want to laugh so hard. Plus, it was too obvious Pattinson was wearing lipstick! Forgive me, but that lapse was just unpardonable.
Yes, the movie was made for teens, but I don’t think that’s reason enough to make it a half-baked, on-screen rendition of arguably the most celebrated vampire love story in long years. The producers and the director should have realized that even twenty-something, thirty-something, and forty-something females are reading the Twilight books too, and that these non-teens could be lining up in theaters alongside shrieking, high-school girls during the movie’s release date. Unfortunately, not everyone is juvenile enough to let pass the hazily-depicted scenes or the almost boring pace of the film, balanced out momentarily by romantic forest interludes and heartrending lullabies.
One critic complained that the Twilight movie was made for the book readers and no one else. I couldn’t agree more. Anyone uninitiated with the Twilight universe is not likely to consider Twilight on the silver screen as a stand-alone film. If the saga wasn’t as riveting as it is, I doubt that the film would have grossed just as successfully with its $70 million weekend. It’s sad but painfully true: the movie was a box-office hit mainly because many people (mostly females) have already read the Twilight books. Or perhaps because non-readers are curious as to what the hype is all about. Whether or not the film really deserved the box-office figures is another matter altogether.
Meyer may not be an award-winning writer but she deserves credit for the way she has exploited her fertile imagination and for creating interesting characters in her brainchild of a book. And in many ways, I think, the movie sabotaged her work.
I’m still optimistic though. Summit Entertainment has already acquired the franchise for New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. And since the second film is slated to be released no earlier than 2010, Pattinson and Stewart will have ample time polishing their skills, and a lot more for the production designers to pick the right kind of vampire lipstick.
After having finished reading Eclipse, the third book in the much-hyped over Twilight saga, I am going to contradict myself. I am no longer a fan of Edward Cullen. My affection is dedicated to Jacob Black, the teenage werewolf who is not afraid to love Bella, even when he knows she is more in love with someone else.
