Oh Lordie! Twilight the Movie!

If you haven't heard of Twilight, google it. Seriously. You don't have to like it, but you should be embarrassed for not knowing. Even I know, and I'm always the last to know anything. You must have been trying not to know. (some one's cranky...)

Yes I'm cranky, because I have gotten NO sleep the week. Am I making excuses? NO! Because I loved it, and I would do the same thing given the opportunity for a redo. I had to stay up all night for a sleep deprived EEG, so that was just necessary. But when I was just barely recovered from that later in the week, I went to a midnight movie which I never do because my bed time is 9pm that is the kind of not night owl I am.

So the movie that made that whole ordeal worth it, Twilight, had some major major pressure to deliver. First, I went to see it at midnight, which is not it's fault, but still counts. Second, I am a fan of the books. Third, I'm not a teenage girl who is hopelessly in love with the actors playing these characters, so they can't suck because I am actually paying attention. Then there is the HYPE. Oh my goodness, the hype. I HATE when they hype movies like this. If it is only barely slightly less than the hype led you to believe it would be, you think it was no good, when really it was pretty dang good, it was just slightly less than the hype. So not fair. So those were some factors in my head going into this whole experience. One factor on the side of the movie is that I am not a "the movie better be the book in motion picture" fan. I realize they are two different types of art, two very different ways to communicate ideas. AND, if I wanted to experience Twilight a la Stephenie Meyer, I would have just reread the book. But this was Twilight a la Catherine Hardwick, so I was excited to see where she took it. These were some things in my head going into the experience. So what did I think?

I should start out saying that I really enjoyed myself because I have some tough criticisms,and you might not catch that in everything I have to say. There were some parts I would have done differently, but there were some parts that were so transcendentally better than the book, I was literally breathless. It was geared to a young audience, so I forgave the offenses I had due to my age. The movie felt much more "teen love" rather than "epic love". I was disappointed in that a little. But this is the most difficult part of these kinds of projects. I read the books and took something very personal from them, which was the immense sacrifice that both Bella and Edward took part of for the other. So of course when that part was not the focus of their love story, I missed it. It was there, but I'm talking about my unreal expectations as a previous fan in that example.

I think overall I wish they could have moved away from the book more than they did. I definitely understand the pressure to make the book fans happy, but since I am a fan of the interpretation more than the accuracy, I felt a little like, "yeah, I've read that line before... 5 times... I don't want to hear it". Some of it was good, like the lion and the lamb, and the other was a little redundant like Bella's three lines about how Edward is a vampire, he wants her blood and she loves him. I think it does sum things up really well, but I've just read those lines a lot, so it was a little redundant (like I said ;-)).

Lastly, and this has to do with having too much of the book in there as well, I felt as if there were many many aspects that only Twilight insiders would understand. Again, this is a super hard balance where you will find yourself pleasing no one because book fans want to see the aspects they fell in love with, and new on lookers want things to make sense and not fly over their head. For instance, in the biology scene, instead of wondering what the hell Edward's problem is with Bella because he is acting weird (you aren't supposed to know he wants to kill her), I laughed because of how far they took the pain Edward was in. Part of Edward's character is that he maintains a very firm facade, and that is part of the appeal of the books because you get to peek under it. So seeing Edward flinch like he did was kind of out of character and weird. He was supposed to come off as a jerk who seemed offended at Bella, not as a psychopath. There were a couple of scenes like that where I just basically felt the whole bit was overacted, not a little overacted, severely overacted. But again, in this story which is so focused on passion, how do you draw the line? When does something go from passionate and stirring to cheesy and over the top? I felt like some of the editing and music contributed to that as well.

On the other side of that very coin, however, I was totally caught up in some of the scenes. Instead of flying over my head, they took me up with them. The kiss scene was just. Oh Lord, it just was. I loved how they integrated the whole revealing who Edward really is and how everyone really feels about each other in the one scene in the woods. That went very well and would have taken up way too much space to do separately like it was in the book. The back and forth of the fear and uncertainty, the acceptance, the vulnerability, all of it was just wonderful, with the climax of the mutual understanding that they were falling in love in the worst and most dangerous of circumstances. The setting and chemistry and music was fantastic. I also really really enjoyed the getting to know each other parts that followed. It brought much needed levity. I liked how they had much more fun meeting the Cullen's and Hales than they did in the book. Poor Nicki Reed and Ashley Greene (they play Rosalie and Alice) just got soo much grief. I think they were wonderful. In fact I wasn't much worried about any of the casting with the exception of Jacob.

I am just barely not a Team Jacob fan for Bella, and I am 100% a Team Jacob fan for myself. I was not feeling Taylor Lautner for the part of Jacob. I can't really pin why. However, seeing his performance just sealed the deal. He has just enough chemistry and shyness. He clearly felt inferior to Edward, but I definitely got the sense that he was interested but not hopeful for Bella. I liked how they prematurely started the tension between Jacob and Edward in a "this is more than I'm jealous of you" kind of way. I am actually very excited what they do with Jacob in New Moon whereas before I was not looking forward to it. He carried that part in a way that put my fears about his age and maturity to shame.

I was afraid the villains were going to be over the top, but I liked them. You connected with them, got a real sense of their feeling of superiority. James wasn't evil, he was condescending, and it was his pride that lead him to feel like he could treat Bella as no more than a dinner roll. I really liked how they captured that. I think in that, they allowed us to understand a little that the even though we spend so much time with the Cullen's, that they are in fact the exception, not the rule. Their position is precarious and vulnerable because of their lifestyle. I thought that dynamic was subtle, but I am really glad it was there. It is a depth that I believe is essential for the rest of the series.

I really enjoyed Bella's friends. I had a hard time connecting with them in the books which served my obsession for Edward well. In the movie however, I felt that Bella was more integrated, and that the tension will be a good focal point in later movies. I appreciated more of Angela and less of Jessica as well. Jessica really got on my nerves in the books, so that was a huge relief for me.

So there ya go. Some parts I literally rolled my eyes at, and some parts literally left me speechless and breathless (which makes me want to roll my eyes at myself now). Very very interesting direction. Hardwick took this movie to a place I never expected it to go, not even with all the footage we were allowed to see ahead of time. I don't know how to describe that place, but it was different than expected. It wasn't a cheap imitation of the book, it stood alone as a piece of art. I REALLY liked the indie quality because of what I feared the massive popularity and hype would do to it all. I didn't miss the polish even a little bit. It was totally unexpected, and I loved it!

One last thought. The sparkle. Even in the books I thought this was over the top and ridiculous. Seriously. Sparkles? But I was very impressed by the effect they did for it in the movie. I actually liked it! I thought it enhanced and didn't detract. I could never wrap my mind around that reading the books, so it was a delight to have it done for me in the movies!

Will I see it again? I think I'm gonna have to just to wrap my mind around it. There were so many aspects that were so unexpected (which is a real feat for a movie based so closely on a book). I enjoyed everything so much the first time, though. So it will be no chore, let me assure you!