Lush, Pretty and Empty

Rating: 6/10 (19 February 2009)

Plenty of elements came together and worked well. Still my overall impression was that something at the center went missing.
First, deprived of Bella's inner dialogue and her lightness & humor, the first half of the movie felt tentative. We sense what's going on with Bella but as viewers we are on the outside. We need direction. What drives the book is Bella's quirky humor and her ever escalating fixation with Edward. According to the story on the second day of school she is stricken with disappointment; Edward is absent. Even to her this is mysterious. With little encouragement from Edward, Bella becomes enthralled - nay, devoted to being by his side. Obsession culminates with her risky venture into the isolated meadow, alone with a superhuman killer. In the film this story arc is abbreviated and oddly spliced-up. The story feels a little thin. (Plus the voice of Edward, as played by Robert Pattinson, was a little startling, and not in a good way, and took some getting used to).
Secondly, the movie introduces a catalog of elements and characters from the book plus some added violence but less romance. (Same thing happened with the adaptation of Brokeback Mountain a far, far superior story and film, I know.) The primary story, the intense, scintillating and overwhelming perhaps fatal attraction of the two leads, is diluted. The movie is less sensual than the book. Wasn't there time for any over-the-top, big screen caliber romance? Instead some favorite scenes and dialogue went missing. ("You're intoxicated by my very presence") The overall effect is an enjoyable glimpse of many supporting story elements and an odd romance that feels too underdeveloped to be the force driving all the action. I suspect the scriptwriter tried a little too hard to dial down the passion appropriately for her intended adolescent audience. Where's the fun in that? Plus it made for an uneven movie.
Mysteriously, all the talent at work on this film couldn't dispel a TV movie-of-the-week sensibility. This distracted me for the first half of the movie. Why did the story come across so small? Maybe the movie didn't know what kind of tone it wanted to take. Lots of possibilities were on option in this chock-full story.
For the rest, I enjoyed myself. Plenty of talent in evidence. The actors did remarkably well. The tension, humor and yes, the tenderness of some of their scenes made for quality low-key stuff. I loved the setting, the adolescent angst, the actor who plays Charlie, the few extreme close-ups, the dream (or were they?) sequences. The parts just didn't quite add-up to a satisfying adaptation or night out at the movies. I can attest the movie improves upon second viewing :)