Review: Twilight (2008)
I did it. I finally watched Twilight for the first time.
During my teen years, there were two kinds of girls: those who were Twihards, and those who rolled their eyes at the first kind of girls, deciding to read real books instead. I fell into the latter category.
Of course, I couldn't help learning a little of what Twilight was about over the years. I knew that the films were based on the book series by Stephanie Meyer, and the protagonist in them was a girl called Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart in the films, who looks so pale that it's a wonder she isn't a vampire herself. There's Edward, an actual vampire, who people apparently found attractive. And there was Jacob, a werewolf who people also found attractive. The people who found Edward attractive would argue with the people who were attracted to Jacob, so much so that they each became "teams" for the male lead they liked best.
That was all I knew of Twilight.
Recently, I've found myself reflecting on the time of the Twilight fandom. A lot of people, and the media in particular, really bashed Twilight at the time the films were being released. The series was everywhere and inescapable, but while something like Harry Potter has a very large fandom that continues to grow as new generations discover it, Twilight was very specifically aimed at teenage girls: people like the main character, Bella Swan (although there was also a collection of Twilight fans known as "Twi-moms": older women who enjoyed the series). It seemed for a while that nobody liked teenage girls, and the general belief from non-fans was that this series of books and films was damaging their dumb teenage girl brains.
Twilight has also fascinated me more recently because it felt like the first real film franchise aimed at teenage girls, and it was a fantasy series. You don't get a lot of chick flick fantasy (not mainstream anyway) and I was curious to see how this alternate world with inhuman creatures worked with the romance genre, if they blended well together at all. Say what you want about Twilight, but you have to admit that it can't be entirely coincidence that so many YA fantasy book-to-film adaptations have been made since, all featuring key romances: The Hunger Games and Divergent being top examples.
Well today, as a 22 year old woman watching the Twilight series for the first time, I'm hoping that by giving these films a chance, I will redeem my younger self for all the harsh, silent judgement I put upon Twihards. Based on the first film alone so far, Twilight really didn't deserve all of the backlash it received from people who weren't fans (most of whom probably dismissed it before watching or reading it).
Believe me, there are many cringe-inducing and hilariously awkward moments, which I will share with great delight. It's just that those moments don't take up the entire running time.
For those who haven't seen it, Twilight follows seventeen year old Bella Swan, as she moves in with her dad Charlie (Billy Burke) while her mum and stepfather move away for the sake of the stepfathers career. Bella is enrolled into a new school, where she meets many fellow students, including Edward Cullen (portrayed by Robert Pattinson). At first, Edward is rude to Bella, but slowly they bond over time. However, Bella notices lots of strange things about Edward, and learns that he is a vampire. The blossoming romance between the two becomes difficult with the trials that come with Bella being human, and Edward being a vampire. Will their love survive it all?
When I finished watching Twilight, my first feeling was surprise at how little Jacob (played by Taylor Launter) is in this film. I thought he was supposed to be a major character, and I know he definitely is in the next one (he's on the poster in a prominent way). However, we learn very little about him here, apart from the fact he has a crush on Bella. He seems sweet, but at this point, I don't understand why girls went crazy for him.
I have mixed feelings about Edward, and unfortunately, a lot of those feelings are negative. I have to say, he looks ridiculous. Laughably so. With his very white skin, almost sharpie black looking eyebrows and bright red lips that resembles a very poor attempt at a Joker cosplay, I don't know how girls and the media made him out to be a heartthrob. The sparkle effect on him when he's in daylight is particularly laughable. Admittedly Robert Pattinson is decent looking, and looks a lot better out of the Edward look, but even so, I'm still surprised so many people went crazy for him over this film.
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, who either looks fed up with everyone or like he wants to vomit for the majority of the running time.
Out of the two lead actors, I would say Pattinson is the superior one here. I believe the material he had to work with was worse than what Stewart had to deal with as Bella: Pattinson had some funny, clunky lines (see my "Quote of the film" down below) that he managed to deliver as convincingly as he could. My issues aren't with Pattinson, but with Edward, who is a very problematic character.
Apart from being intoxicated by the smell of Bella, and being fascinated by the fact she's the only person whose mind he can't read, the viewer is presented with no reason as to why he likes her, or would be attracted to her. From the beginning, his behaviour towards her is confusing. When they first meet, he's incredibly rude and never apologises for this, then he leaves school for a few days without explanation, only to come back and suddenly be very lovely to Bella, asking her questions about herself.
Even before they date, Bella later finds out that Edward, who doesn't sleep, watches her sleep in her bed each night by climbing in through her bedroom window. After saving her life at school one day, he tells her she needs to stay away from him, but then he proceeds to follow her still. This is romanticised, as this habit is only revealed when he saves Bella from a group of rowdy men. All of this is stalker behaviour, and it's uncomfortable.
Edward also proves to be very controlling and possessive over Bella, saying worrying things throughout the film such as:
"It's like you're my own personal brand of heroin."
"I still don't know if I can control myself." (he's talking about being around Bella).
"I hate you for making me want you so much."
"I wanted to kill you at first. I've never wanted a human's blood so much, before."
There's also that time he tried to gaslight Bella after saving her life, which was horrible.
He also seems to be drawn to Bella in some part because of her low self esteem, which I will discuss further when I examine her. However, in a scene where the two are in a restaurant, Edward reveals he can mind read, which brings up this exchange:
Edward: I can read every mind in this room apart from yours. There's... Money. Sex. Money. Sex. Cat... And then you, nothing. That's very frustrating.
Bella: Is there something wrong with me?
Edward: See... I tell you I can read minds and you think there's something wrong with you?
Firstly, why does he WANT to be inside her head to begin with? That's invasive and creepy. Secondly, it doesn't actually tell us how his mind-reading works - does he hear everyone all the time, or does he choose when to listen? Thirdly, and worst of all: when Edward asks "you think there's something wrong with you?" He says it in a smiling way that suggests he's in awe at how self-conscious she is of herself. There's a difference between finding it endearing when someone is shy, and smiling to yourself when you recognise someone is weaker than you, and sadly, this feels closer to the latter.
Also, why was everyone in the restaurant only thinking about sex and money? Surely at least one person in there would be thinking about the food?
The hundred year age gap is a bit concerning, but the film does its best not to make this creepy by having Edward live as a seventeen year old, going to school and living a family life with his foster parents and siblings. This is fine, but surely as a man from early 20th century, he would have some rather different social ideals than the ones people in the time of this film would have? I think that would be interesting to explore, and see how those ideals evolved over time - if at all.
The sad thing about Edward is that I feel like he actually had potential to be a wonderfully interesting, tortured anti-hero. Buffy the Vampire Slayer did it well with Angel. Here though, when Edward does things like claim to be a repulsive monster only to become glittery in the sun, and fixate over a very vulnerable young girl, it's hard to feel anything resembling pity towards him.
The best thing about this character was that Pattinson and Stewart shared decent chemistry together, and he acted the part well. Notice it's the actor and not the character I have praise for though.
I'm just going to say, I don't see myself becoming Team Edward or Team Jacob anytime soon. However, is there a Team Carlisle? Because I will happily join that group. Yes, he's another odd-looking pale vampire with weird contact lenses. But you know what? Carlisle (played by Peter Facinelli) is amazing. He's attractive, dedicated to the people he loves in a non-creepy way, and is remarkably compassionate. He saved several people's lives by turning them into vampires when they were dying, and he's a doctor, dealing with the creatures he should most want to eat each day, but instead he helps them. I want to learn more about the relationship he has with his wife (who he turned into a vampire when she was dying) and more about Carlisle in general.
Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen
Now, I need to talk about Bella and Kristen Stewart. To begin with the latter, I really don't think Stewart's performance was as bad as everyone implied. She played an awkward character, and she nailed the awkwardness. It's making a lot of that awkwardness endearing to the viewer where she didn't quite hit the mark. Bella falls over constantly, to the point everyone else comments on it to her and Edward gets irritated by it at one point. I don't understand why this is necessary to her character, unless she has an actual disability such as dyspraxia that is revealed later on? Still, I know dyspraxic people far more physically stable than Bella.
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) in a rare moment of almost smiling
When it comes to Bella being a monotone, quiet, painfully awkward teenager, I completely believe in this character. I pretty much was this character as a teen, in that sense at least. What I don't believe is everyone else's reaction to her.
She moves to a new school at the beginning of the film, and literally everyone is fascinated by her. The girls all want to be friends with her, and the boys all ask her out. Bella seems to have nothing in common with the girls, who are bubbly and positive, and no dynamic is built between them. As for the boys, Bella acts (you guessed it) awkward, and she rejects them, as her sights are set on Edward. Even everyone in Edward's family (apart from one sister) loves Bella, and is happy she's dating Edward. This element is frustrating, as this could have been a great way to create conflict, particularly when there isn't actually a lot of plot for the first two thirds of the film.
Additionally, Bella has alarmingly low self-esteem and seems reluctant to communicate with anyone except Edward (who is horrible at the beginning and toxic later on) and her mother (who abandoned Bella with her dad for a reason that at this point isn't entirely clear to me, or if it's for the reason I believe, it's weak).
The main scene that highlights this is when Bella wakes up in hospital near the end of the film, and Edward tries to break up with her to protect her from other vampires. Bella then proceeds to have a kind of panic attack, begging Edward not to leave her until he agrees they'll stay together. Once he affirms this, she catches her breath and says something along the lines of "You can't say that to me, don't ever say that to me again."
Now, if someone you love tries to break up with you, of course it's devastating and you don't want it to happen. However, the way Bella handled it, manipulating Edward to stay with her, it felt very uncomfortable to me. I just don't understand why anyone would gravitate towards her as everyone in this universe seems to.
I also want some justice for Charlie, Bella's dad. Charlie's attempt to build a relationship with his estranged daughter is probably the most realistic thing about this film, and I hate how they kept pushing it aside for other things (notably the romance). There's a scene where Bella says horrible things to him, and while she has a motive for this, the motive doesn't feel great and Charlie is genuinely distraught by it. Bella later says she will apologise to her dad, but we don't get to see that happen. When we next see them together, we're supposed to believe that they're fine, but for me at least, it felt like Charlie must still be hurting, because we didn't get to see a resolve to this situation. I just hope that in the next film, Bella is nicer to her dad.
Billy Burke as Charlie
So, I started this review by saying this film left me with mixed feelings, yet everything I have listed so far is mostly negative. Where are the positive points then? Well, to be honest, most of the negatives only hit me properly once the film was over and I was reflecting on it. The watching experience of this film was glorious. Twilight takes itself very seriously for the entirety of the running time, and I love it for this. Everything is so bizarre and unexpected, yet it seems determined to have its own logic, that I was constantly being surprised. It's like the film kept trying to outdo itself.
There are things in this film that I don't even know how to talk about properly at this point, so I shall simply bullet point them:
The vampire baseball game - need I say more?
The contact lenses on the Cullens looking ridiculous
Everyone in the Cullen family looking like Addams Family rejects and no one in the town noticing or caring about this
That scene where Bella and her dad's hands meet as they both reach for a bottle of ketchup, which feels oddly more like a cliche rom-com moment than an estranged father-daughter moment. This is further confirmed to me when Bella and Edward reach for the same thing and brush hands briefly, in an implied romance building scene
The moment that follows the above point in which Bella handles a bottle of ketchup with the most ineptitude I have ever seen
The scene where Edward cups a red apple in his hands, just so that there's some (very weak) justification for the book cover design
The rivalry between the vampires and werewolves seems pointless, like it only exists to create a love triangle for Bella with Edward and Jacob later on
Jacob has long hair, yet I've only seen him on posters with short hair? Did they make him cut it (the hair looks like a wig, but I mean, the character isn't supposed to be wearing a wig) for sex appeal? That's sad
The face Edward makes when he sees Bella for the first time and smells her blood is amazing. I was in stitches. The fact that Bella then became worried that she smelt bad made it funnier to me
The first kiss scene between Edward and Bella was HILARIOUS - why did it take so long for them to actually touch lips?!
The narration - why was the narration so serious? Why was it even there? Bella mumbles so much that I had to watch the film with subtitles anyway, so why not just show us what the character is going through instead of making the audience strain their ears to listen?
In terms of actual positive traits, I actually appreciated the pacing of the film. While some people might think the beginning was slow, I liked how Edward and Bella took some time to actually develop their bond. The acting is a little funny sometimes, but considering some of the scenes and these actors had to work with, I think they did well. Also, the film brought Carlisle into my life, so that's worked out rather nicely. It seems I'm more interested in the future arcs of the two dads in this film than I am in the romance, although to be fair, I am rather curious about how the main, toxic romance will develop.
I don't know what the future films will bring, but for now I shall say that I'm looking forward to the further adventures of Sparkles the Vampire and his Spider Monkey.
THE SCOREBOARD
Chick Flick Check List Elements: 1, 8, 13, 15, 21, 27, 42, 48, 54, 57, 61, 64
Total: 12
Is this really a chick flick or will men like it too? Some people will be able to laugh at this, but I can see others being irritated by it.
Would I recommend this film? Yes, but probably only as a guilty pleasure movie.
Quote of the film: "Hold on tight, spider monkey." - Edward
Film rating: 6/10
