Monday, November 23, 2009

New Moon (film) dir. Chris Weitz

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Chris Weitz
Running Time: 130 minutes
Imprint Entertainment, 2009
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner


Genre: Supernatural; Romance


Viewers Annotation
After vampire Edward deserts his true love Bella, she falls into a deep despair that only lifts as she deepens friendship with Native American Jacob... but he has secrets of his own.


Plot Summary
Bella and Edward are typical high school sweethearts, except that he's a vampire. On her 18th birthday, Bella has a nightmare that she ages into an old woman, while Edward stays forever 17. She tells him that she wants him to change her into a vampire, but he refuses, because he believes doing so will take away her soul. After her birthday party, when a paper cut sets off his brother's blood lust, Edward breaks things off with Bella, saying that there is no way their relationship can ever work. Before he leaves, he makes her promise that she will not do anything reckless and in return promises that she will never see him again. Bella spirals into a deep depression, having screaming nightmares at night and losing touch with all her friends. 


While riding on a motorcycle, Bella is visited by a vision of Edward, who reminds her that she promised him not to do anything reckless. Because she is so desperate to see her love again, she decides to rebuild two broken motorcycles with her Native American friend Jacob,  a 16-year-old who is handy with mechanics. Being with Jacob is the only thing that makes Bella happy, and when she's around him, she feels like her old self. 


Life in Forks is never easy, though. Though Bella remains in love with Edward, Jacob is clearly falling for her. Bella's father is busy with reports of a mysterious large animal that has been spotted killing area hikers. And Jacob is worried about a pack of boys on the Rez, who all follow their leader around blindly, who seem to be coming for him next....


Critical Evaluation
There's only one thing I can say about this film: at one point, I laughed.... loudly. The entire theater turned to look at me. And the scene? It wasn't supposed to be funny.


I wanted to like this movie. I really, really did. But I couldn't because, well, it was terrible. Most of this movie rests on Kristen Stewart's shoulders; she's in practically every scene. But while I've enjoyed her in other films, including Speak and Twilight reviewed elsewhere in this blog, she just doesn't have the acting chops to carry this film and spends most of the film looking pained. As Edward, Robert Pattinson does better, but he has very few scenes in the movie. In his big dramatic scene at the movie's climax, his makeup is noticeably bad. The viewer wonders why Bella is struggling to choose between Edward and Jacob, when Edward looks like death warmed over.  Taylor Lautner is a bright spot; his scenes with Stewart are the movie's best, and the only time where Stewart seems comfortable, and with his open smile and his six-pack abs, Bella's choice seems easy.


It's certainly not only the actors fault; the pacing of this movie is strange, and the editing should have been much, much tighter. We spend way too much time at the beginning of the movie on inconsequential details, so halfway through the movie, the viewer is willing the pace to pick up.  The special effects are laughable; the first transformation of the Native Americans into werewolves was, in fact, what had me laughing out loud. The director relies on Matrix-like camera tricks to show the vampire's stealth and speed, but somehow it just comes out looking cheesy.  


The screenwriter failed to make the necessary changes from the book to the screen. The reader learns about Bella's torture, her choice to live dangerously to prolong the visions of Edward through her risky behavior, through her narration. The viewer is not so lucky; people who have not read the book will be very confused as to what's going on in many scenes. While voice-overs can be a clunky technique, I think it would have helped this film tremendously. More experienced actors might have been able to convey these complex emotions wordlessly, but the teenage cast cannot.


That said, teenage fans of the book are flocking to this movie despite the bad reviews. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if many of them left as members of Team Jacob instead of Team Edward.


About the Director
Chris Weitz previously found huge success with young adults as co-director of American Pie, a raunchy sex comedy that also had a lot of heart. (His brother Paul was the other director.) Their next project was About A Boy starring Hugh Grant, based on the Nick Hornby novel. The movie was critically acclaimed, especially for its nuanced characterizations. Weitz' previous directing project was the film version of the modern young adult classic The Golden Compass.


Curriculum Ties
None, although its use in non-educational settings (such as a movie night at a library) would undoubtedly be popular.


Viewing Interest/Level
The film is appropriately rated PG-13 for scenes of action and violence. While teens and adults are the intended audience for the movie, younger teens in junior high will undoubtedly be curious about it, too, and the film would be appropriate for them as well.


Challenge Issues
Since parents tend to understand the MPAA rating system, I do not think it's likely that this film would be challenged in a library collection. It is appropriately rated PG-13 for scenes of violence and action.

Selection Criteria
Because of all the hype surrounding this movie, I decided to see it opening weekend. Indeed the theater was packed with young adults!

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