You Maniacs know I have opinions about Twilight. Back when they announced the movie, we discussed key moments of the book that Twilight fans would consider crucial to the cinematic adaptation. After several viewings at the local multiplex, I’m ready to report on Twilight the movie. It is the opinion of this reviewer that director Catherine Hardwicke (and her crew) did a wonderful job on the movie over all, considering the many limitations and challenges she encountered in the process. For the uninitiated, the film stood up well, was easy to follow, and the production values were rather impressive.
Admittedly, most who bought a ticket were either rabid fans of the novels (such as myself), or were motivated to attend as a reluctant companion (think boyfriends pressed into service). Most fans would probably state with total conviction that the book was far better. This being the case with most adaptations, I think overall Twilight fans were well served, and the movie was a relatively faithful reflection of the novel. Based on the key ‘wow moments’ of the book I proposed in my last article, here is how the movie incorporated these elements:
Edward Cullen was played by the young British actor Robert Pattinson. He was also seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie as Cedric Diggory. When I first saw that he was the one chosen to play the god-like looking vampire Edward Cullen, I admit to a certain disappointment. Almost every other Twilight fan I talked to had pretty much the same reaction. How he embraced the character and ‘became’ Edward was a very welcome surprise.
The meadow scene. Well, I won’t beat around the bush on this one ... It was very disappointing. This is, for the most part, a Twilight Fan consensus. Everything that happened in this key moment in the novel was translated to a seven 7 second forest scene in the movie. Hardwicke loses major points for this neglect.
The baseball scene however, gains back many of the points lost on the Meadow Scene. The light-hearted atmosphere and fun the Cullen family had in the book was accurately portrayed by the cast, and was a particularly high point of the film. So too was the dark turn of the moment when James and his crew arrive. The fun immediately ends and the audience is rendered breathless in anticipation of what might happen next. Kudos to Hardwicke for her attention to detail on this major turning point in the story.
I was torn on how I thought the climax went. The dance studio was not as I had envisioned it in my mind, but no lost points for that. Overall, the scene worked and was reflective of the novels end-game. Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Cam Gigandet (James), gave a strong performance amongst exciting visual effects.
There was a pleasant surprise in the film that I’m sure no one expected, a brief appearance by Stephanie Meyer herself. It was only for a few seconds, so keep your eyes open for the author. Overall, the movie did quite well as compared to the book. Certainly there were elements that earned points, as well those that detracted. A book as beloved as Twilight is very difficult to translate perfectly to film without fans being critical of their favorite moments or specific details not being ferreted exactly as they had envisioned. Despite that, the film holistically captured the spirit, romance, and excitement that Stephanie Meyer infused into her writing, and we must afford Katherine Hardwicke credit for attempting to accurately capture that magic in her production. Now, let’s see how they do on New Moon!
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