Parental advisory: violence
Running time: 122 minutes
Rating: Three stars out of five
VANCOUVER - And I thought Nights in Rodanthe would be the clammiest encounter with bodice-ripping excitement this season. Turns out Twilight is the teen version of a heart-trembling, hormone-pumping, toe-tingling Harlequin-styled sex escapade - with one great big difference.
Instead of sex, the central lovers in Twilight engage in a fully buckled version of bloodlust. They crave physical communion, but find their appetite and affection only grows deeper and more committed the longer they abstain because if they go ahead and "do it" their lives will, quite literally, never be the same again.
This overt denial of sexual union has been credited for making Stephenie Meyer's vampire series a bestseller among the just-say-no crowd in Middle America. But there's a bigger reason behind the Mormon mommy scribe's success and it's palpable in every de-saturated frame of Catherine Hardwicke's film adaptation.
Twilight is earnest. It means every single halted breath and quivering lip because it truly believes in teen love, and the overwhelming emotional and chemical rush of discovering one's sexual self for the very first time.
Most importantly, it examines this time-limited and entirely unique experience from the point of view of a young woman who is not religious, desperate, socially exiled or particularly different.
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has nothing to prove to anyone when she moves from Phoenix to Forks, Wash. - allegedly the cloudiest place in North America. Relocated by her parents' separation, Bella has obviously perfected the art of emotional withdrawal and a strategy of muddling through a crisis without asking for help.
Bella is a tough cookie, and in the hands of the fiercely talented Stewart, who single-handedly made Zathura watchable, the character achieves a certain level of complexity in look alone. Able to convey a sense of childlike awe, Joan of Arc courage and femme fatale intrigue in one aching glance, Stewart ensures Bella doesn't come off like a lovesick ninny.
This is important, because Bella has to possess as much inner strength as her beloved Edward (Robert Pattinson), a fellow high school student who takes the Emo-Goth look to a whole new level.
Edward is the handsomest and palest kid at school, and he tends to hang out with his "own kind" - his foster family, who all have the same ashen complexion, black eyebrows, red lips and penetrating stare.
When Edward takes an unnatural shine to Bella, things get dangerous for both of them because, well, Edward could end up sucking all of Bella's blood in a moment of vampire intoxication and kill her.
He could also turn her into a vampire - something the brave Bella would happily experience if it meant being with Edward for the rest of her life.
Alas, this latter day Romeo and Juliet are stuck on different sides of the River Styx, but that doesn't stop them from sharing quality time. In fact, the dilemma facing the young pair offers up some smart humour, and more than one tongue-in-cheek exchange.
One of the better scenes involves a re-imagining of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? as Edward's family prepares a human meal for Bella, happy they "can use the kitchen for the first time."
Like all vampires, Edward isn't just handsome, he's also crazy rich - another asset that makes him as desirable as he is suspect because, when you get right down to it, the vampire formula is a great big metaphor for power.
Vampires, as Edward tells us, are the "ultimate predators" on the planet. These uber-beings are not bound by the laws of mortals, and because they live forever, they have endless access to cash.
Money, for young people who have yet to realize their own earnings or power potential, tends to be as seductive as sex itself - all of which makes Edward the most compelling fantasy hero since Prince Charming.
Not surprisingly, several young women swooned audibly whenever Pattinson's face appeared on screen and practically fell out of their chairs when he finally clenched his icy lips against Bella's wrist - and sucked hard.
For all this, Hardwicke and the producers will be well-rewarded at the box office because Twilight the movie is just what fans are hoping it will be: An earnest teen love story that convincingly euphemizes sex as vampirism.
Shot in all the bruised hues the Pacific Northwest allows, Hardwicke's blue-gray palette gives the film a half-dead feel that suits the subject matter - and lends the story a non-Hollywood look befitting a tale of social outcasts.
Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, The Nativity Story) has a special flare for stories about young people because she understands how inexperience makes everything feel monolithic.
We feel the weight on Bella's trembling shoulders, but thanks to Hardwicke's grown-up sense of humour, we're also given a chance to laugh at the sheer inanity of what we're seeing.
Twilight isn't exactly literary prose. It's bodice-shredding romantic schmaltz. Hardwicke nails the sweaty mood and delivers a movie with teeth, but she also introduces a camp factor that no vampire movie should be without, ensuring this sexless ode to sex straddles the great divide between earnest teen drama and idiotic hokum.
Running time: 122 minutes
Rating: Three stars out of five
VANCOUVER - And I thought Nights in Rodanthe would be the clammiest encounter with bodice-ripping excitement this season. Turns out Twilight is the teen version of a heart-trembling, hormone-pumping, toe-tingling Harlequin-styled sex escapade - with one great big difference.
Instead of sex, the central lovers in Twilight engage in a fully buckled version of bloodlust. They crave physical communion, but find their appetite and affection only grows deeper and more committed the longer they abstain because if they go ahead and "do it" their lives will, quite literally, never be the same again.
This overt denial of sexual union has been credited for making Stephenie Meyer's vampire series a bestseller among the just-say-no crowd in Middle America. But there's a bigger reason behind the Mormon mommy scribe's success and it's palpable in every de-saturated frame of Catherine Hardwicke's film adaptation.
Twilight is earnest. It means every single halted breath and quivering lip because it truly believes in teen love, and the overwhelming emotional and chemical rush of discovering one's sexual self for the very first time.
Most importantly, it examines this time-limited and entirely unique experience from the point of view of a young woman who is not religious, desperate, socially exiled or particularly different.
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has nothing to prove to anyone when she moves from Phoenix to Forks, Wash. - allegedly the cloudiest place in North America. Relocated by her parents' separation, Bella has obviously perfected the art of emotional withdrawal and a strategy of muddling through a crisis without asking for help.
Bella is a tough cookie, and in the hands of the fiercely talented Stewart, who single-handedly made Zathura watchable, the character achieves a certain level of complexity in look alone. Able to convey a sense of childlike awe, Joan of Arc courage and femme fatale intrigue in one aching glance, Stewart ensures Bella doesn't come off like a lovesick ninny.
This is important, because Bella has to possess as much inner strength as her beloved Edward (Robert Pattinson), a fellow high school student who takes the Emo-Goth look to a whole new level.
Edward is the handsomest and palest kid at school, and he tends to hang out with his "own kind" - his foster family, who all have the same ashen complexion, black eyebrows, red lips and penetrating stare.
When Edward takes an unnatural shine to Bella, things get dangerous for both of them because, well, Edward could end up sucking all of Bella's blood in a moment of vampire intoxication and kill her.
He could also turn her into a vampire - something the brave Bella would happily experience if it meant being with Edward for the rest of her life.
Alas, this latter day Romeo and Juliet are stuck on different sides of the River Styx, but that doesn't stop them from sharing quality time. In fact, the dilemma facing the young pair offers up some smart humour, and more than one tongue-in-cheek exchange.
One of the better scenes involves a re-imagining of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? as Edward's family prepares a human meal for Bella, happy they "can use the kitchen for the first time."
Like all vampires, Edward isn't just handsome, he's also crazy rich - another asset that makes him as desirable as he is suspect because, when you get right down to it, the vampire formula is a great big metaphor for power.
Vampires, as Edward tells us, are the "ultimate predators" on the planet. These uber-beings are not bound by the laws of mortals, and because they live forever, they have endless access to cash.
Money, for young people who have yet to realize their own earnings or power potential, tends to be as seductive as sex itself - all of which makes Edward the most compelling fantasy hero since Prince Charming.
Not surprisingly, several young women swooned audibly whenever Pattinson's face appeared on screen and practically fell out of their chairs when he finally clenched his icy lips against Bella's wrist - and sucked hard.
For all this, Hardwicke and the producers will be well-rewarded at the box office because Twilight the movie is just what fans are hoping it will be: An earnest teen love story that convincingly euphemizes sex as vampirism.
Shot in all the bruised hues the Pacific Northwest allows, Hardwicke's blue-gray palette gives the film a half-dead feel that suits the subject matter - and lends the story a non-Hollywood look befitting a tale of social outcasts.
Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, The Nativity Story) has a special flare for stories about young people because she understands how inexperience makes everything feel monolithic.
We feel the weight on Bella's trembling shoulders, but thanks to Hardwicke's grown-up sense of humour, we're also given a chance to laugh at the sheer inanity of what we're seeing.
Twilight isn't exactly literary prose. It's bodice-shredding romantic schmaltz. Hardwicke nails the sweaty mood and delivers a movie with teeth, but she also introduces a camp factor that no vampire movie should be without, ensuring this sexless ode to sex straddles the great divide between earnest teen drama and idiotic hokum.
News Source:http://www.canada.com/
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