Review: Twilight (2008)

[Jerry Saravia]

TWILIGHT (2008)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Three stars

Vampires are fascinating creatures because they represent the undead
and seem unconnected to humans and their proclivities. Not so with the
vampires in "Twilight" - they play baseball and attend the prom! There
are a couple of new twists on vampires in "Twilight," an absorbing
love story that has a rushed third act but it still manages to
maintain interest.

Kristen Stewart is Bella Swan, the quiet teenage girl from Phoenix who
has moved to the town of Forks, Washington, to live with her father.
This town is almost always cloudy and drenched in rain. Her new
classmates seem like a joyful bunch, but there is also a group of
emaciated teens with dark brown eyes. One of them is a brooding James
Dean lookalike named Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who is even
more quiet than she is. Bella sees something in Edward, something
either otherworldly or she has met the sulkiest, most distancing
teenager in history. But when she is rescued by Edward, either during
a potential rape attack or getting smashed by an out-of-control truck,
she grows smitten and eventually discovers his secret: he is a
vampire. I think the ice-cold skin might have been the tip-off.

Legions have read Stephenie Myers' novel so they know what to expect.
I suppose a teen-friendly vampire soap opera is a might close to my
initial expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the film's
central key relationship. What elevates it I think is Kristen Stewart
and Robert Pattison who have undeniable chemistry, and keep the
romance believable and honest. In fact, had Edward not been a vampire,
it wouldn't have mattered. She wants to kiss him, make love to him,
but all Edward wants to do is climb up trees. He makes her long for
him, and I can imagine that many teenage girls find this idea
arresting, forlorn and tragic all at the same time. Yeah, he is a
vampire and she is human so sex could be a problem. The key word is
abstinence but I must say it is refreshing to see a movie where the
teenagers can love each other first before the sexual shenanigans
begin. Director Catherine Hardwicke (who helmed the potent "Thirteen")
knows and understands Bella and Edward enough to give them weight and
some measure of complexity.

"Twilight" does suffer a bit when it focuses on Edward Cullen's
family, who all live in a glass house in the middle of the woods. They
welcome Bella with Italian food that they obviously cannot eat
themselves. The Cullen clan also play baseball but only when
lightining strikes (!) and they only drink the blood of animals. And
when we are introduced to another group of vampires who kill humans, I
felt my heart sinking a bit. A better subplot given less screen time
is to the Native American family who might be werewolves. Granted that
many of these subplots are in the book and perhaps figure in later
installments, but I grew weary of the evil vampire clan and their
determination to go after Bella. Perhaps due to Stewart and Pattison's
love story, I felt these other elements distracted a bit.

Still, "Twilight" is a serene and strangely beautiful film with two
charismatic leads. The love story blooms and stays with you, nicely
amplified by Stewart and Pattinson who give this film an ethereal
humanity you don't see much of in movies anymore. Hardly a great movie
nor a stunning new saga in vampire lore, "Twilight" is still
captivating and makes you swoon. It is just a sweet love story that
happens to revolve around vampires.


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