Running time: 122 minutes
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli
Rating 7 out of 10
One of the most highly anticipated films of the year may well be a complete mystery to anyone over the age of 20. Stephanie Meyer's series of Twilight novels have been a teenage publishing sensation, especially in the United States where over 20 million copies have been sold. The inevitable film now arrives, with huge expectations, and it's easy to see what all of the fuss is about. The literary phenomenon has now become a massive film success.Twilight is the story of Bella (Kristen Stewart), a 17-year-old girl who relocates to a tiny town in Washington to live with her father, the local Chief of Police (Billy Burke). She is given a warm reception by a friendly new school, but soon becomes attracted to a mysterious classmate named Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Edward's family is equally strange: all adopted, all startlingly good-looking, if a little pale of face.
It's not giving anything away to say that Edward's family is a clan of vampires: and there are inherent dangers for Bella if she follows a relationship with him, not least the fact that she herself may become one of them should the inevitable happen with her new love.
Director Catherine Hardwicke previously explored troubled teens in her breakout film Thirteen and here she shows why she was an excellent choice for the job. The subtext is the forbidden, being an outsider and burgeoning teenage sexuality and Hardwicke brings a sensitive and evocative touch to all of it. There will of course be ardent fans of the books who will complain about what was left out or given short shrift, an inevitable result of translating a much-loved 600-page novel to the screen, but it feels like a successful transition to someone who is coming to it for the first time.
Another reason for the film's success is its choice of lead actors: as Bella Kristen Stewart comes of age, having played the child role in many Hollywood films up to now. Her awkwardness in the face of her emotions for Edward is well-judged. Another career is launched in the shape of Robert Pattinson, a young English actor who has the necessary looks to make teenage girls around the world swoon, but with the added bonus that he can act. With a $70 million opening weekend in the US, a new franchise is born.
Paul Hurley
