Last night I watched Twilight with some lucky fans who squeezed into the surprising small theater for the preview. They were linked arm in arm, wearing their Team Edward T-shirts, and the squealing that started when the lights dimmed continued when a major male character appeared on screen for the first time (Jacob, Edward, Carlisle, James, in that order of appearance). I sure hope director Catherine Hardwicke meant for those early scenes to be funny, particularly the first meeting between Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) where he looks like he's about to throw up and then stares at her throughout biology class, because the crowd couldn't stop laughing. (Not haha-laughing, but the I'm-so-giddy-my-throat-can't-stop-gurgling-over laughing). And any appearance by Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), who is silent nearly the whole film with a fixed expression of sheer terror, also brought on the chuckles. For a teen-angst romantic drama, this film was getting more yuks than You Don't Mess With the Zohan.
But then the romance, and the action, kicked in, and Twilight settled into a brisk-paced drama sure to please readers who were waiting for Bella's rescue/Italian dinner, for the first kiss, for the baseball game, and the climactic ballet-studio fight sequence to play out on the big screen. Any tense moment between Bella and Edward (and it must be said, the pair have some great chemistry) was punctuated with a choked cry of ecstasy from some girl in the audience, so it was tough to really watch it as a film. Stewart is a perfect Bella, and Pattinson, while certainly looking the part, was probably two degrees too timid to carry off the more heroic aspects of Edward fans have come to love. (With his natural accent he was more masculine in Harry Potter; here, he's doing a James Dean-esque affectation that works as mysterious but not so much as... well, a hero) The forest confrontation was particularly awkward, because as Edward flits about demonstrating how menacing he can be ("I've killed people"), you don't fully believe him. If they keep making more films, Pattinson needs to dial up the cojones if Edward's going up against the Volturi. As much as I like Pattison, as I drove home I couldn't help thinking about the actor Stephenie Meyer envisioned as Edward when she wrote the books, The Tudors' Henry Cavill, and thinking there was a little more studliness to be desired.
The only other sore spot in the film were the portrayals of Bella's classmates. Mike, Eric, and Tyler, it must be said, on-screen were completely annoying clowns who like to give each other noogies and wedgies between classes (and that's it). It's completely unrealistic for Bella to be friends with them. (Also noteworthy: in the film version Eric is Asian-American and Tyler is black, as is the nomadic vampire Laurent. Played by Edi Gathegi, Laurent is particularly inspired casting, but the caricatures created of Bella's friends might make some think this idea was too forcefully PC.)
If you aren't a fan of the books (and I am, even though I'm trying to write this review objectively), this movie will likely confuse you. The point from A to B to C leaves many unfilled holes of logic; the attraction between Bella and Edward on screen alone is never fully fleshed out, which would leave newbies going, "So.... he loves her, but is that because he wants to eat her? And why would she rather die than stay away from him again, despite this?" On the plus side, the movie leaves out many of the more overwrought purple prose from the book and is snappier, funnier (particularly anything featuring Bella's dad Charlie, played by Billy Burke).
But you know what? In the end, it doesn't matter. Will Twilight please its fans? A resounding yes. Will I watch it again? Of course-- though in my house, and any gurgling squeals should indeed be my own. -- Ellen
