Review: Twilight

RECOMMENDED

It’s fairly obvious why young girls have gravitated towards Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” series of novels. In a market swarmed with the likes of “Gossip Girl” and Disney ‘tween stars, Bella is a character girls can really relate to. She’s not rich or particularly beautiful, she isn’t label- or diet-obsessed, nor does she find it necessary to party or rebel. She is, for all intents and purposes, completely ordinary, yet cool at the same time. It’s because she never compromises herself that a seemingly perfect man falls in love with her after nearly a century of solitude. But why does this story appeal to grown women, women in their twenties and thirties, who no longer have the shroud of naiveté to hide them from the reality of love? The idea of a man with the wisdom and patience of your grandfather, forever frozen inside a physically perfect body, would appeal to even the most logical of women. Both the “Twilight” saga and the Harry Potter series were written by women, and both have a ravenous fan base. Web sites with exclusive footage of the film crash within minutes of posting. Public appearances by the stars evoke Beatlemania across the world, causing leading man Robert Pattinson to comment that the sound of fans screaming is like the “gates of hell.” Why? The insight shared by Meyer and Rowling is that their stories intertwine the normal world as we know it with supernatural, giving the reader the illusion that it could all happen to them. Catherine Hardwicke’s interpretation of “Twilight,” from an adaptation by Melissa Rosenberg, feels like a movie aimed at teenagers, only it lacks sex and liberal swearing. Hardwicke’s proven her knack with youth from previous films “Thirteen” and “Lords of Dogtown,” but this is her first project with a pre-existing fan base. Any adaptation leaves one wary that too much might be changed and the mood of the original work will be diminished. In “Twilight,” very little is altered from the original book. Kristen Stewart portrays Bella as a girl with masochistic desires, and who believes that Edward’s love can overcome the thirst for her blood. It’s a sharp contrast to Robert Pattinson’s Edward, disgusted with himself for being selfish yet also saint-like in his resistance to his very nature. This tension between them carries the day. Set in the small town of Forks, Oregon with looming clouds and endless rain contrasting with the bright greens of nature, you wait for the pair to surrender to desire, and when they finally do, it’s like sun breaking through clouds. They are selfish for wanting something that by all lights isn’t right for either of them. This selfishness puts them and their loved ones at risk from a pack of less humane vampires who only see humans as sustenance. As difficult as it gets, the question of whether it’s worth it is never raised. When one finds love like this, any other task seems effortless in comparison. 120m. (Julie Gavlak)