Twilight's Effects Fail To Dazzle

By Patrick Herald

Twilight, the latest young-adult book-to-movie adaptation, is a reasonably entertaining way to spend two hours, but ultimately seems more like an extended TV show pilot than a proper film. 

Based on the first of Stephanie Meyer’s popular novels, Twilight follows Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) as she moves to a new high school and subsequently befriends Edward (Robert Pattinson), a member of the mysterious Cullen family. 

As most will know, Edward and his family are vampires, and the real conflict in the story is how Bella and Edward can navigate their quickly romantic relationship in the face of their fundamental difference. 

Stewart is a good choice for this sort of role. I recognized her from Into the Wild, where she also successfully played a character who is a bit of an outsider, but not an outcast; Bella is different but not a weirdo. Before she meets Edward, she befriends a nice, unassuming group of students. These early scenes are some of the best in Twilight. The actors seem like pretty convincing high school students, and they have the familiarity with each other that lends itself well to a group of friends. 

Pattinson overacts somewhat in his role as Edward. I realize the character is supposed to be intense and all, but if a student at my old high school made the same scowls and glowering stares all day that Edward does, he’d likely be the laughing stock of the school. 

Twilight portrays the ordinary well. Bella hanging out with her friends, Bella eating with her dad, all of these things are grounded in the real are convincing. 

When it tries to handle the supernatural, though, like Edward’s superhuman speed, it just doesn’t handle it in a convincing way. Surely it is difficult to show someone running faster than a human can run – how, after all, do you show the impossible? I thought The Matrix did a pretty good job, though. When Edward runs up a hillside with Bella on his back, his legs a blur, I had to remind myself that his name wasn’t Sonic, and he is a vampire, not a hedgehog. 

The visual effects throughout Twilight seemed more like something from television than the movies. The construction of the story line did as well, as it’s clear that the plot of Twilight is only a short prequel in the grand scheme of things. When the movie ended, I felt like I had just seen the pilot of a new show rather than a film. It’s easy for me to imagine the characters from Twilight in a new show along the lines of Heroes, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It just doesn’t seem proper for a feature film. The villain is even introduced and dealt with in a brief and episodic manner.

One thing that clearly does make Twilight stand out from television, though, is the cinematography. Set in rural Washington, the gloomy and tree-covered hills, always awash with rain, set the mood beautifully. There’s even a shot of Bella and Edward at the top of a massive pine overlooking a lake that’s downright profound to look at. 

I didn’t dislike Twilight by any means, but I feel like I would be lying if I said it is a good movie. It would be fairer to call it a decent way to pass an evening, but one which is already forgotten on the drive home. Vampire movies are so numerous now that I could only be satisfied by something truly outstanding; Twilight is far from it.