New Moon is a Step in the Right Direction

Rating: 5/10 (22 November 2009)

Almost a year to the day after Twilight hit theaters, it's sequel New Moon has teens--well women in general--flocking to the theater.
New Moon is by far the most internal book of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Books that take place almost entirely inside of the protagonist's head are difficult to translate to the screen--see the labored adaption of Twilight. This and a thousand other reason had me worried when I entered the theater to see New Moon. The book centers on the Bella Swan's internal journey towards the light and away from Edward. The quiet transformation that Bella undergoes under the warm and watchful encouragement of Jacob is what has so many...I want to say teens but sitting in the theater this afternoon with more middle age women than screaming teens makes me say women hopping on Team Jacob. The movie was bound by the constraints of time, already running at just over 2 hours, the movie does not quite do justice to the tender affection that develops so slowly between Jacob and Bella, but I think that this has more to do with lack to time than a lack of reverence for the relationship. Weitz, the director, and Rosenburg, the screenwriter, are incredibly faithful to the book on the whole. There will be no cries for scenes from the book that didn't make it into the movie like there were after Twilight, and furthermore Weitz and Rosenburg try to added just enough to the story to give the viewer something to care about, something to strive for--though this hook never quite sinks into the viewer. On the whole, Weitz's directing style is far less distracting than was Catherine Hardwicke's direction in Twilight. There were definitely moments that the camera movement detracted from the story rather added to it, but these moments occur far less often with Weitz at the helm. Furthermore, Weitz's camera direction kept the camera out of the faces of the actors and often allows several actors and even some of the background into the shot.
The acting in this movie is at least on par with the acting in the first film. Kristen Stewart definitely has the ability to portray broken-souled mopey-ness in spades. Her portrayal of Bella is a dark and broken exterior overlaying a stubborn will to live and a will to hold on that is at the best of times captivating and at the worst of times annoyingly pathetic to point of forcing the viewer to wonder why either Edward or Jacob would want her. When Bella is left by Edward in the woods with the promise that she'll never see him again, it's heartbreaking. When the directorial effort to keep the story moving gets out of her way, Stewart definitely will pull tears from even some of the hardest viewers. Stewart's performance is imminently watchable even if not her best. Stewart managed to be less...blinky than she was in her first portrayal of Bella and, mercifully, keep the lower lip biting to a minimum. Robert Pattinson is largely absent from this adaptation except during the opening and closing of the film. When he does appear, Pattinson's acting is a bit labored but the hoards of "Twihards" wont mind because Pattinson still manages to throw heart-melting looks at Stewart. Pattinson's American accent is much better and much less like a bad imitation of a New York gang movie. On the plus side, Pattinson's Edward is enjoyable during the confrontation scene at the end of the movie. The problem with Edward is that he is gone from the screen so often that even the strong chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson seems to slip from the viewers mind. Then there is Taylor Lautner. Lautner is the most charming of the three principles in this film. Lautner and Stewart's relationship building scenes at the beginning of the film are sweet and enjoyable but the romantic chemistry between the pair is never quite where it should be. Overall Lautner's performance is strong and it should promise good things for Eclipse when the real Jacob, Edward, Bella triangle comes to a head.
On the whole, the film, though quieter than the first, is a better than Twilight. The movie is, as is the book, merely a transition from Twilight to Eclipse. In the end, the movie will be loved by Twilight lovers and hated by Twilight haters. Those who are neither lovers nor haters of the saga will feel somewhat ambivalent when the movie ends.