Twilight - Movie Review

In Twilight the plot revolves around Isabella Bella Swan, a high school student who moves from Phoenix to Forks, WA, and learns upsetting, but thrilling, secrets when she meets the intriguing Edward Cullen. Bella finds herself falling for Edward, a centenarian vampire stuck in a teenagers lifeless body. Bella grows deeper and deeper into a world that she couldn’t even dream of, being caught in a web of dangers and enchantments of immortality. The struggle of Edward with his vampiric nature creates suspense while Bellas human vulnerabilities raise the stakes.|Themes in Twilight create a complex weave of love, danger, the supernatural. Themes of forbidden love and acceptance of societal norms are highlighted in the film’s examination of the tension between human desires and immortal temptations. It jumps between suspenseful and brooding, including the raw emotion of first love and the anxiety of embarking upon the uncharted. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson turn in compelling if heavily criticized performances as Bella and Edward, while setting it all in the Pacific Northwest lends it a gothic atmosphere, making it all the better at creating a sense of mystery and allure. Pattinsons Edward is a tortured, enigmatic, yet utterly accessible archetype; Stewart imbues Bellas awkward authenticity. Come for their torrid romance, which draws in audiences. Now, the supporting cast members such as Catherine Hardwicke (Twilights director), Billy Burke (Bella’s dad) and Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen) are able to bring solid performances, whereas some characters around them fall a little flat. By balancing the fantastical with the ordinary, her ability to ground the story helps audiences to connect with the profoundly emotional journey that characters must take.

The lush and hauntingly ethereal music of Carter Burwell compliments gothic themes perfectly on this film. The rich yet haunting narrative is aided by Burwells score, and a treat of a soundtrack with tracks that became as synonymous with the films mood as the piano motifs and the dark mood ascribed to the cinema.

Elliot Davis cinematography is a visual feast bringing the lush, rain-soaked settings of the Pacific Northwest with a mystique factor. Apart from the use of muted color palettes and dynamic camera angles, he also uses it to make the story dreamlike and suspenseful, which makes it a visual treat for the audience.

The production design absolutely sets a world where the ordinary meets the extraordinary. The special effects in Twilight arent breaking any new ground, but they work for the story, especially during Edwards vampiric sequences and the climaxes.

But the special effects in Twilight do, however, serve the story in what is basically establishing its ongoing tension between normalcy and the supernatural. Some of the moments might feel dated, but they don’t take away too much from the film’s overall effect.

Editing is essential to keeping the film on its pace and mood. However, Nancy Richardson’s editing keeps the narrative moving smoothly, though on occasion the transitions appear abrupt or the pacing off kilter to the point it disrupts the buildup of the story’s emotional arc

Twilight’s deliberate pacing — despite scenes that can seem overly long in chase … Resisting the urge to develop the relationship or its associated themes takes a while, and that can be both a strength and a weakness. A nuanced exploration of character dynamics, Twilight allows but may test the patience of anyone searching for a more immediate gratification.

The dialogue in Twilight swings back and forth between poetry and melodrama — sometimes mirroring just how intense the emotion and inner struggle are for these characters. Some lines are so powerful yet so intimate with the protagonists that they capture the distance between their lover and the reader while others are almost stiff and take the audience out of the story, something critics of Twilight often complain about. Ignoring this, the emotional core of the film and the chemistry Stewart, Pattinson have is compelling. Though at times feeling convoluted, the love story plays well to its target audience, making Twilight a much loved piece of the genre and something it is an experience to watch.

If you are watching Twilight, you are entering a world of ethereal beauty with the shadow of foreboding. Memorable irreverence and whimsy captures the essence of origami-romantic teenage fantasies. The film has the feeling of longing and nostalgia that will strike in any who have lived through the tumultuous emotions of first love.