sparkly vampires
In an effort to really understand the phenom that is the Twilight thing, I rented the movie.
a) This is not a vampire movie.
b) This is a teen romance movie.
c) This is not a good movie.
Aside from all the kerfuffle about how bad Meyers can write, I tried to look at the movie with an objective eye. Lots of so-so novels have been adapted into entertaining and enjoyable movies. A good screenplay, adequate acting, and compelling direction can all add to the story rather than skim the already diluted surface.
I believe the Twilight movie fails for the #1 crime of storytelling: too much telling, not enough showing. We're supposed to believe the romance between Bella and Edward (and the whole bloodsucking thing is really just a huge club-on-the-head metaphor for sex--it's purty darn obvious) just happened instantaneously. Or perhaps not. But the film doesn't show them connecting or getting to know one another or any other reason why a new girl in town is suddenly fully blown away by the cute, but weird guy when all these other guys are fluttering around her begging for her attention.
I get the whole teen angst; Bella isn't angsty, she's got ennui. There's a difference. Angst is about understanding and fitting in, of finding one's identity and getting people to recognize it. Ennui is just the slow depression over nothing. I didn't dislike Bella, but I sure didn't *like* her. I wanted to smack her and tell her to get over whatever it was that was bothering her. She liked her new stepdad, thought he made her mom happy. Didn't seem to dislike her emotionally distant father. In fact, they're two of a kind when it comes to liking their solo time. Fine, fine, that's all well and good. There wasn't anything in the movie that made me think that Bella shouldn't just go off and get turned into a bloodsucker--I mean, really, what's the problem? Edward and the rest of the clan seem to be just fine.
And perhaps that's the biggest problem of all. Edward tells Bella that he doesn't like being a monster, but he doesn't show it. I didn't see the conflict at all--I heard him saying words to that effect, but to me, they just sounded like a teenage boy who reallyreallyreally wants to hit that thing but can't for fear of some unknown reprecussion.
Which is another flaw of the story. At the end, Bella admits to him she is willing to do whatever it takes to be with him forever (an identifiable teen theme in many teen romances), and openly exposes her throat to him. Then he doesn't do it, looks pained about it, and The End. It's a terribly dissatisfying ending bereft of tension. We know Edward isn't going to turn Bella because he would have already done it when he was saving her from being turned by the other vampire. He had plenty of time to become her sire.
And I still don't know why he won't! Saying he doesn't want to end her life is pretty lame when his life, and the life of his family, seems pretty copacetic. Whatever the reason for him not being able to turn her, whether his own ethics or outside politics, it's never clearly shown in the film. And because of that, I never grokked the tension. The forbidden was confusing rather than titillating.
Edward, in the beginning, was creepy. More creepy than any of the other Cullen vamps. He's awkward and weird and just a little serial killer manic. Any reasonable romantic lead doesn't have these things in his character description, I don't think. The Cullens exist, but they don't seem particularly forced to remain secretive. They don't do a whole lot to stay incognito other than to disappear when the sun comes out because their skin turns glittery.
Again, I reiterate that this is not a vampire movie. I have not read anywhere about skin turning bedazzled in sunlight. It's grossly insulting to the whole vampire mythos. But then, this is a metaphor for Just Say No, so I guess it's as laughable as you want it to be.
Things that could have made it better:
1) Show the vampires as true monsters.
2) Show Edward's conflict with this part of him. Hence, angst.
3) Show why Bella and Edward have a relationship in the first place.
4) Show Bella's reasons for her ennui.
5) Show why it's bad to turn a human--the reason why Edward has to say No.
Last note: why do the Cullen "kids" have to go to school anyway? They could be home schooled. They're not teenagers anyway, so why pretend to be teens? I never saw a clear reason why the Cullens had to appear "normal" at all.
What I learned about the Twilight movie: if this had been just another teen romance movie not connected to any bestselling series, this probably would have been booed by the audience. Some might not have called it the worst movie ever seen, but there's so little action, so little tension, not enough quirky dialog or humor at all that I wonder who would go tell their friends to see it in the theaters. The actors are okay to look at, but so are so many other teen actors in other teen romances with vampires. It's Hollywood afterall.
If the consequences of turning Bella had been shown, then the action or decision not to act would have had much greater impact and would have made for a more understandable, if not minutely better, story. Note to Writers: this is how not to create tension and show conflict in your story.
In the end, no matter what you think about Meyers or her books, the screenplay and direction of the movie could have gone another way making for a more compelling and less hollow adaptation.
a) This is not a vampire movie.
b) This is a teen romance movie.
c) This is not a good movie.
Aside from all the kerfuffle about how bad Meyers can write, I tried to look at the movie with an objective eye. Lots of so-so novels have been adapted into entertaining and enjoyable movies. A good screenplay, adequate acting, and compelling direction can all add to the story rather than skim the already diluted surface.
I believe the Twilight movie fails for the #1 crime of storytelling: too much telling, not enough showing. We're supposed to believe the romance between Bella and Edward (and the whole bloodsucking thing is really just a huge club-on-the-head metaphor for sex--it's purty darn obvious) just happened instantaneously. Or perhaps not. But the film doesn't show them connecting or getting to know one another or any other reason why a new girl in town is suddenly fully blown away by the cute, but weird guy when all these other guys are fluttering around her begging for her attention.
I get the whole teen angst; Bella isn't angsty, she's got ennui. There's a difference. Angst is about understanding and fitting in, of finding one's identity and getting people to recognize it. Ennui is just the slow depression over nothing. I didn't dislike Bella, but I sure didn't *like* her. I wanted to smack her and tell her to get over whatever it was that was bothering her. She liked her new stepdad, thought he made her mom happy. Didn't seem to dislike her emotionally distant father. In fact, they're two of a kind when it comes to liking their solo time. Fine, fine, that's all well and good. There wasn't anything in the movie that made me think that Bella shouldn't just go off and get turned into a bloodsucker--I mean, really, what's the problem? Edward and the rest of the clan seem to be just fine.
And perhaps that's the biggest problem of all. Edward tells Bella that he doesn't like being a monster, but he doesn't show it. I didn't see the conflict at all--I heard him saying words to that effect, but to me, they just sounded like a teenage boy who reallyreallyreally wants to hit that thing but can't for fear of some unknown reprecussion.
Which is another flaw of the story. At the end, Bella admits to him she is willing to do whatever it takes to be with him forever (an identifiable teen theme in many teen romances), and openly exposes her throat to him. Then he doesn't do it, looks pained about it, and The End. It's a terribly dissatisfying ending bereft of tension. We know Edward isn't going to turn Bella because he would have already done it when he was saving her from being turned by the other vampire. He had plenty of time to become her sire.
And I still don't know why he won't! Saying he doesn't want to end her life is pretty lame when his life, and the life of his family, seems pretty copacetic. Whatever the reason for him not being able to turn her, whether his own ethics or outside politics, it's never clearly shown in the film. And because of that, I never grokked the tension. The forbidden was confusing rather than titillating.
Edward, in the beginning, was creepy. More creepy than any of the other Cullen vamps. He's awkward and weird and just a little serial killer manic. Any reasonable romantic lead doesn't have these things in his character description, I don't think. The Cullens exist, but they don't seem particularly forced to remain secretive. They don't do a whole lot to stay incognito other than to disappear when the sun comes out because their skin turns glittery.
Again, I reiterate that this is not a vampire movie. I have not read anywhere about skin turning bedazzled in sunlight. It's grossly insulting to the whole vampire mythos. But then, this is a metaphor for Just Say No, so I guess it's as laughable as you want it to be.
Things that could have made it better:
1) Show the vampires as true monsters.
2) Show Edward's conflict with this part of him. Hence, angst.
3) Show why Bella and Edward have a relationship in the first place.
4) Show Bella's reasons for her ennui.
5) Show why it's bad to turn a human--the reason why Edward has to say No.
Last note: why do the Cullen "kids" have to go to school anyway? They could be home schooled. They're not teenagers anyway, so why pretend to be teens? I never saw a clear reason why the Cullens had to appear "normal" at all.
What I learned about the Twilight movie: if this had been just another teen romance movie not connected to any bestselling series, this probably would have been booed by the audience. Some might not have called it the worst movie ever seen, but there's so little action, so little tension, not enough quirky dialog or humor at all that I wonder who would go tell their friends to see it in the theaters. The actors are okay to look at, but so are so many other teen actors in other teen romances with vampires. It's Hollywood afterall.
If the consequences of turning Bella had been shown, then the action or decision not to act would have had much greater impact and would have made for a more understandable, if not minutely better, story. Note to Writers: this is how not to create tension and show conflict in your story.
In the end, no matter what you think about Meyers or her books, the screenplay and direction of the movie could have gone another way making for a more compelling and less hollow adaptation.