A strange experience with this one.....Read on

Rating: 3/10 (1 January 2011)

After much maligning of "Twilight" by everyone I know, I stayed well away from it. It later occurred to me, however, that it is unfair to join in with the slandering, having not actually experienced it myself.
Due to so many people's view that the film is utter rubbish, I was nicely built up for a major fall, fully expecting to despise everything about it; when my reaction was rather tepid, it actually felt like a positive! These are things that, to my own surprise, I didn't think were too bad: The idea, on paper, I can see is actually quite a good one. It's an interesting take on the vampire story and though I have not read Meyers' books, I can imagine them to be quite engaging. There is a little allusion to the classic star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, though if any of the dialogue and character engagements in this film are lifted directly from the book, Meyers is certainly no Shakespeare.
The principal cast do the best with what they are given, though I can imagine in many years to come, Robert Pattinson may look back on this Saga in the same way Kevin Bacon famously does on "Footloose"; whilst being the making of him, he certainly wishes it wasn't. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, unlike Mr Orlando Bloom, who quite frankly cannot act for toffees, Pattinson isn't just a pretty face and at least has some conviction in what he's doing, the occasional bad delivery aside. Given time, I can see him becoming more solid. Kristen Stewart plays Bella and doesn't do too badly; not much else to say on her really. Oddly enough, possibly the best performance in the film is a character I can see getting rather overlooked; Bella's father, Charlie. He is played by Billy Burke, an actor of subtlety and unquestionable command of what is a relatively small role. The rest of the cast are simply fodder, but it is quite a compliment, in what is a very mediocre film, to say that none of the principal actors are weak.
The original score stood out for me; I found the main theme to capture the drama nicely, and to be dark, aggressive and yet graceful, which compliments the story being told very nicely. It could be argued, in fact, that this was the element of the film that most caught my attention in a positive way. Conversely, however, there are a couple of moments in the film where I did wonder how Catherine Hardwicke, the director, had decided that the music fit, because it really doesn't! It is in fact directorial decisions that are the true let down for "Twilight". The efforts to transfer the story's themes of abstinence to the screen, and to create the metaphor of the decisions a girl must make about what makes a boy the right choice, are fair attempts, but are flawed by a bad screenplay and a director who, to call ham-fisted, would be an understatement! We have lingering shots that aren't necessary in any way other than, it would seem, to glorify somebody's cheekbones; badly judged, long pauses that are supposed to hold tension, both sexual and dramatic, which actually just leave you feeling like you should leave the two lovers alone for a while. We then have drawn out montages, in which we think "Yes, I get it, they fancy each other, let's move forward now," and moments that possibly worked in imagination, but should have been the first thing ditched when making the film, such as glittering vampires (the effect of which was actually quite disappointing; I didn't see much difference). We also have rogue "bad" vampires, who appear to carry around their very own fog machine. This last element ruined what was otherwise one of the better, more fun scenes in the film.
Another pivotal moment, during which I thought perhaps she had actually managed to shoot something well, is the conversation between Bella and Edward about what he is. It is all going well until we get an out of the blue, unnecessary "MTV" moment, with the camera darting all over the place. I assume this is to hold the attention of its audience, but all it does is kill the moment flat. There are many other flaws I could pick out, such as Edward's incessant need to keep returning to Bella every few minutes, only to remind her of why she should stay away from him (I understand it is an attempt to illustrate the idea of not being able to resist someone, but it is pushed too far and looks stupid).
"Dawson's Creek with vampires" nicely sums up how I feel about this film, even in its tone! The character arcs and conversations feel like they're straight from an American High School TV drama (except this is shot worse, at points), but in that context, it does what it sets out to do. Please note that in rating this film, whilst I would personally give it a one-out-of-five, simply for all the previous issues, I am taking into account the target audience it had right from the start, which I assume is the same as that for the book (coming-of-age school or college girls), and not an audience who perhaps appreciate the "Vampire" genre outside of this film. If you fit the demographic, "Twilight", with all its awful direction, is likely to still hold your attention.