Review by Patrick Samuel
When you can live forever what do you live for?
My fascination with vampires and other dark creatures of the night began when I first watched Abbot and Costello in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) when I was little. I was transfixed by this pale faced impressive character of Count Dracula and was even more amazed by his incredible powers and how he moved, spoke and the abilities he had such as mind control, shape shifting and of course that he was immortal and could live forever.
It was a fascination I never grew out of and as I got older it only became stronger. I read through Bram Stoker’s original novel in one brief night and had read a few of the Anne Rice novels before I had even seen the big screen version of Interview With the Vampire and always sought out each new Vampire Chronicle. I was one of the unfortunate who saw the 1990 Buffy movie and greeted the 1997 television series with high-browed scepticism but lapped up until its end with Season 7 and Angel season 5 in 2003 and the two X-Files episodes which dealt with vampire folklore (“3” and “Bad Blood”). In the past few years I watched the final Blade movie, Van Helsing and 30 Days of Night and came to the conclusion that the vampire story had pretty much buried itself with no hope of an original resurrection in sight.
That was until when I saw Twilight. I wasn’t hoping for much, the trailer I had already seen in cinemas didn’t fill me with promises and I felt that was a movie that had nothing original to offer the well experienced moviegoer. So, what’s it all about?
Kristen Stewart plays Bella, a teenage girl who has just moved from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to live with her dad in the cold, wet town of Forks, Washington. On her first day at school she is meets a new group of friends but is shunned by mysterious and spellbindingly handsome Edward Cullen. As the two teens slowly get to know each other and gain each others’ trust, Bella feels there is still something he is not telling her. At the same time, her dad, who works for the police is investigating a series of brutal murders and it looks as if there might be something out there attacking people. Bella begins to suspect that Edward and his family are vampires and confronts him about it, but admits that she is not afraid of him and soon the two of them embark on a supernatural love affair; scaling the highest treetops to enjoy the views together, laying on the dew-dropped grass, gazing into each others eyes and being invited by Edwards family to have dinner at their place. Things begin to get complicated when a renegade group of vampires make themselves known and own up to killing the townspeople and Bella’s life along with her family’s is put at risk and it’s up to Edward and the rest of the Cullen clan to protect them as the vampires battle it out against each other.
The movie is visually stunning; the cinematography is breathtaking, especially in the outdoor scenes with Edward and Bella. It also has a very natural feel to it, the colours are fresh and beautiful to look at, and nothing seems over saturated or lacking in anything. Perhaps it has to do with the fact this is a movie made from a woman’s point of view; directed by Catherine Hardwicke with screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg and based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Perhaps this is what makes it so fresh and the fight scenes between the vampires aren’t laden with testosterone, special effects and heavy rock music. Instead we see motivation, passion and very sensitive acting heightened by carefully chosen music as the soundtrack. Scenes such as the one where Edward and Bella lie next to each other on the grass are a cinematic treat because the camera, the actors, the set, the lighting and the music are all working in perfect harmony to create a well balanced scene, and the whole movie pretty much follows this example. This pretty much makes it my movie of the year, beating off the easy competition of remakes, sequels, prequels and re-imaginings.
I honestly did not think it would be possible to give the vampire legend a new lease of life and reinvent it in such a way that even a hardcore vampire fan such as myself would be able to fall in love with it, but Twilight really managed to do it. Sure, it does away with the mirrors, ring of garlic and crucifixes which have long been some of the most important trademarks of the vampire along with sleeping in coffins; fear of daylight and love of old castles, but it adds an entirely new set ideas, such as the fantastic vampire baseball game and what vampires really look like in the sunlight. One thing remains the same though and it’s the thing which maybe we all can identify with; the long search for love which for vampires must be even lonelier because of their immortality. The story is told from Bella’s point of view and through her eyes we experience how her feelings for Edward grow as she gets closer to him, we see that she looks past his preternatural powers, killer instincts and blood lust and sees the 17 year old boy who loves playing the piano, talking with her and sharing their lives together.
TWILIGHT
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Novel by Stephenie Meyer
Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg
Music by Carter Burwell
Cinematography Elliot Davis
Editing by Nancy Richardson
CAST:
Kristen Stewart … Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson … Edward Cullen
Billy Burke … Charlie Swan
Ashley Greene … Alice Cullen
Nikki Reed … Rosalie Hale
Jackson Rathbone … Jasper Hale
Kellan Lutz … Emmett Cullen
Peter Facinelli … Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Cam Gigandet … James
Taylor Lautner … Jacob Black
Anna Kendrick … Jessica Stanley
Michael Welch … Mike Newton
Christian Serratos … Angela Weber
Gil Birmingham … Billy Black
Elizabeth Reaser … Esme Cullen
