Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves from Phoenix, AZ to a small, rainy town of Forks, WA to live with her father when her mother and stepfather travel to his seasonal training.
In her new school Bella is immediately attracted to an aloof stranger, a dark brooding stranger. He is not only detached; he is part of a small, exclusive club of kids adopted by the town’s doctor Carslisle Cullen.
Sulky, pale, silent Edward (Robert Pattinson) stands out, untouchable Heathclif, and Bella rises to the challenge. She attract his attention, touches his feelings- all very chaste as the situation demands- meets his family and her involvement with Edward puts her, her parents and the entire Cullen’s clan in danger when a band of “wild” vampires appears on the scene.
On the surface, it is the “house divided”, the ultimate Romeo and Juliet. Indeed, the film owes Zefireli’s version of that romance more than one scene. The staging of the first meeting between Bella and Edward is particularly influenced by Zefireli’s vision. Of course, Twilight is taking the impossible love to the new level: one of the lovers desires to kill the other. The more he desires her presence, the more he is afraid of his own action. He might lose control, he might succumb. The dark fights the light. The tempting Eve is unaware of her appeal, the snake is well aware of her bodily charm. The crux of this story is as firmly catholic as all Catherine Hardwicke’s films.
This is not a story of equal lovers. This is a story of a man’s sexual desire (Edward desires Bella’s sweet blood, her scent excited him, he cannot stay away from her) and his internal dilemma between chastity and sexuality. It is not about the woman at all. Bella is any man’s dream, young, innocent, trusting, beautiful and completely devoted. She will love Edward even though he desires to kill her, even though she realizes that part of him always will want to kill her. She loves him even though he is a monster, killer, liar and deceiver. She loves him because he is beautiful: she says this many times while he never reciprocates in the same vein (there is a difference between acknowledging beauty and a desire to posses). Bella is willing to do anything for Edward, including becoming a monster herself. When she proceeds to tell Edward how he cannot, ever, say anything about leaving to her, in that deadly serious voice of hormones obsessed teenager, I felt like running away myself.
Mind you, there are women finding temporary “fulfillment” by pursuing relationships with unavailable men. Priests used to be the utmost taboo, but a vampire would trump that. Only Bella is not an assertive woman, she is, as an independent person, nonexistent. Her entire life goal seems to be her attachment to the reticent Edward; or rather to what he represents for her. It is lucky that she is 17 in the film. The self obsessed determination to appease her hormones would be ridiculous in anyone more mature. Bella is as completely blind to what and who Edward and his family are, as she is to everything that might prevent her relationship with Edward. Edwards is neither as naïve, nor as devoted. Bella attracts him: as a piece of meat and meek slave. She’ll do what he asks of her and he finds that incomprehensible as well as irresistible. Most men would. At least for a while. There of course lies one of the unsolvable problems: Edward has been 17 for 114 years, Bella will be 17 for one year. In 25 years Bella will be the age of Edward’s Mom while he will be attending yet another high school.
Unless.. .oh, Hollywood! Already opening the door to a sequel!
The execution differs from the run off the mill vampire movies by giving time to the love story, its development, and the consequences of Edward’s choices (Bella makes one decision). There is plenty of gazing, some beautifully staged trips and power games, what is left of the natural beauty of Oregon and Washington State, all with strong sexual undercurrent. Native Americans appear as the people with mysterious connection and understanding of the past in the shabbiest cookie cutter Hollywood mold.
I was impressed by the make-up; just lingering on the border of paper mask cliché, yet still within the acceptable for humans depiction, if somewhat strange humans. Edward’s accent is used to further differentiate him; his hairdo irritated me some but I was never one to succumb to Byronic charms.
It is adequately acted out, with plenty of camera help. Somewhat slow, and even the vampire tack cannot really cover up the lack of bloodstream in the story.
As I said at the begging: the very young, who cannot yet see beyond the desire to love and the ones who long yet again to be devoid of experience and responsibility and be able to believe that love can last for ever, will adore it. For the rest, the Swedish film Let the Right One In might be more interesting choice.
Based on novel by Stephenie Meyer.
