I couldn't wait to write this post cause I've just come home from seeing the movie and things are all so fresh in my head! Finally, after months of waiting, I have been able to see Twilight at the cinemas for myself. And to top it off, it was in Gold Class.....a special treat for this long-awaited movie!
When the movie first began, I was a little worried. There was so much storyline and it seemed to be rushed. I have read the first book of the Twilight series so many times and one of the joys of the book is that the romance between the two main characters takes a quite a while to evolve. Ok, it took up a good part of the movie, too but in that first quarter it just seemed like things were rushed through to fit the whole story into the allotted movie duration.
By the time the second half of the movie came though, I had started to believe in the characters and the honesty of this story to the book. Sure, there was an extra scene (interesting!) and there were bits left out, but on the whole, there wasn't a lot of departure from the story.
One of my on-going concerns has been that the two lead actors would not have chemistry between them. This is vital, I think, if the movie is to capture the essence of the novel. Once again, in the beginning, I had concerns that this was not the case....I just didn't feel the connection. But as the movie progressed, I did start to feel it.....that indefinable quality that gives a story 'ooomph' and has us viewers on the edge of our seats....feeling the love sparkle (not just on Edward's skin but) between the two characters.
As for the characters, there were some predictable ones, some disappointments and some surprises! I totally bought Jackson Rathbone's Jasper although never in a million years pictured him to be like that while reading the book. And the same could be said for Elizabeth Reaser's casting as Esme. The Alice, Charlie and Emmett characters were all pretty much the way I imagined them to be, give or take a bottle of hair dye. My jury is still out on the Carlisle and Jacob portrayals and I'm sorry but Rosalie just wasn't as I'd pictured her! As for Bella, I can see why she was cast but she is still growing on me. And Edward, naturally, was a perfect fit (although his faux accent threw me a few times and I have no idea why cause it was probably pretty good but it just didn't seem to fit the timbre of his voice!).
And I also have to say here that I just loved the dark feel that Catherine Hardwicke gave to the movie and the way that Bella narrated throughout the story. The vampire running and leaping scenes were not as enjoyable as I thought they would be however. And that cameo of Stephenie Meyer's (did you spot her? I did!) was a treat!
At the end, I walked out of the cinema feeling satisfied that the movie was a hit. And I really want to see it again. I'm sure that there are bits that I missed and bits that I just want to revisit.
The nineteen year old daughter of my friend came with us to the cinema tonight. Before the movie, she told me that she read on the internet about all the different
'categories' of people who loved Twilight. According to her, I fit into the category of 'Twilight mum' which apparently, is also the 'oldies' category! Just great! So perhaps my interpretation is from an old-ish perspective. But I will repeat what I've said all along....Twilight is not just a teen story. It is a story for multiple ages and the movie is no different!
