Twilight at Midnight - a Movie Review of Twilight Starring Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart

On one of the first cold nights of November, at midnight on November 20th, I went to Bellevue Cinema 8 in Nashville for the midnight screening of the highly anticipated movie, Twilight based on the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Did I say midnight screening? That's what we had been told, but the midnight Twilight movie, which stars starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, didn't actually start until 12:20 AM on November 21. There were 10 of us there when I arrived at midnight. Where were the screaming hoards of teen-age girls? I suppose wise parents had kept their young ones at home on a school night, a decision I applaud.

By 12:20 there were 18 of us there (only 3 of them males), including two groups of giggling female teens - the target demographic of the movie Twilight, about an eternally 17-year-old vampire and the girl who loves him. After 20 minutes of fidgitting in a very un-vampirelike fashion, the audience was more than ready for the movie to start.

Twilight Midnight Movie Showing - the Movie

Twilight began with Bella narrating a bit of the story, anticipating her own death, while on the screen a frightened deer tried frantically to evade a dangerous predator. Those of us who have read the book knew the predator was Bella's love, Edward, and that the deer was doomed. I'm sure the audience collectively wanted so badly for the small deer to escape, and yet, Twilight readers knew the death of the deer meant that Edward had chosen not to feed on humans. Edward's clan, the Cullen family, had all made the decision to not let themselves become monsters, and while they still thirsted for blood, they had chosen animals for their diet.

Much like the Twilight book, the Twilight movie gave us a glimpse into the themes of temptation and abstinence found in Twilight, but while much of the book was rich with layers of emotion and nuance, the Twilight movie fell a little flat. Twilight was not a bad movie but it was not great, either. It was somewhat one-dimensional compared to the book, yet it did flesh out the story, giving us many wonderful visuals we had only imagined on page. It was nice to see Bella's Arizona home, and I liked the addition of Bella carrying a cactus all the way to Forks from Phoenix to keep a little bit of her old home with her. The scenery shot to represent the area around Forks was a breathtaking addition to the Twilight story.

Twilight Midnight Movie Showing - the Actors

Kristen Stewart made a perfect Bella Swan and Rob Pattinson came close to Edward Cullen. I am not sure anyone else could have pulled it off, and Pattinson was believably dangerous in some scenes while quite gorgeous in others. Both young actors perhaps over acted a couple of scenes as they tried to bring some of the emotion of the book to the screen, but teens are dramatic, so even over acting was not necessarily out of place in this flick. However, in the scene where Bella encountered Edward's hostility in the biology class on her first day, Edward's reaction was so over the top, I had to wonder what the director was thinking.

One of my favorite Twilight movie touches was also in the biology class where a snow-white owl sat on a ledge behind Edward, a fitting homage to Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter." The owl also lent its white wings to an artsy shot of Edward Cullen as a dark angel.

Twilight Midnight Movie Showing - the Music

The Twilight music was a jarring disappointment. It was a distraction rather than an enhancement in many places - too loud in some spots, too discordant in others. The movie would have been much better served and hit the emotional marks needed much more readily with a completely different score. Edward's piano playing (that really was Rob Pattinson playing the piano in the movie), Debussy's piano suite Clair de lune, were beautiful and added much to the movie, but most of the other choices were awful. They songs might possibly appeal to teens, but they added nothing to the movie for the rest of us.

Twilight Midnight Movie Showing - the Wrap Up

I didn't leave Twilight disappointed, yet I didn't leave with that, "WOW! I've GOT to see it again!" feeling, either. It was fairly true to the book, and the added scenes of the bad vampires were actually good for continuity and to keep a level of excitement to the movie. Some of the love scenes may be a little steamy for the young tweens and teens who will want to see the Twilght movie.

I'm glad I saw Twilight, but I am equally glad I didn't have to pay $9 for the midnight showing of Twilight. However, the movie is sure to make its young actors Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart teen pop culture royalty.

Twilight Midnight Movie Showing - the Sequel

On November 22, Summit Entertainment announced that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of New Moon, the second installment of the film franchise Twilight. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series titled, New Moon.

Previously published at Twilight at Midnight

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