Twilight (film) dir. Catherine Hardwicke

Twilight
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
ASIN B001P5HRMI
Running time: 122 minutes
Summit Entertainment, 2008
Rated PG-13
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson

Genre: Supernatural; Romance

Viewers Annotation
When a teen girl moves to a small town in Washington to live with her father, she becomes intrigued by a beautiful, mysterious boy whose family holds a dark secret.

Plot Summary
Bella moves to small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father after her mother gets remarried. Though she used to spend part of her summer in Forks, she hasn't been back in many years. In such a small town, her arrival is big news, and both students and people around town are dying to talk to her.  Bella, who is quiet, shy, and a little bit awkward, is unnerved by all the attention. Only one boy isn't all over her feet: Edward Cullen, the beautiful and mysterious boy whom all the girls have crushes on... but who has never dated a girl from school. Edward is supposed to be Bella's lab partner, but he spends the whole first lab holding his nose and acting as if he can't bear to be around Bella. Then he disappears from school for a week.

When he returns, he apologizes for his rudeness. Bella becomes friends with some of the kids from school, and also reconnects with Jacob Black, a Native American who is the son of her father's best friend. While visiting the reservation with some friends from school, Jacob tells her that the Cullens are not allowed on the Rez; an ancient legend says that his tribe is descended from werewolves and that the Cullens are evil creatures they are sworn to defeat. Bella does not dismiss this as mere legend, and using other observations she's made, figures out that Edward and the rest of his family are vampires. She's already fallen in love with him, and he with her, so rather than run away upon learning the news, she and he grow even closer. But there are a series of mysterious deaths getting nearer to Forks. Are vampires the cause of those attacks? And can Bella ever be safe while she's around Edward?

Critical Evaluation
Twilight, both the books and the film, seem to be equal targets of worship and ridicule. While watching this movie with my husband the other night, he was scoffing at the ridiculousness of several plot points. I had to agree with him intellectually, yet I admitted that the 15-year-old girl inside of me was absolutely swooning at the over-the-top romance. The film does a good job at portraying their young love. Robert Pattinson as Edward is appropriately intense and gorgeous. Though many have criticized Kristen Stewart's performance as Bella, I thought she was well-cast. Beautiful, awkward, and intense, she stands out as quite different from the stereotypical teens who surround her at Forks High. One can see why Edward is so attracted to her.  The film's best scenes are the ones between Bella and Edward, as they navigate the waters of their changing relationship.  I also enjoyed the scenes between Bella and Jacob (the excellently cast Taylor Lautner).

The film adapation, however, does highlight the weakest portions of Meyer's book.  The dramatic confrontation between the Cullens and another vampire clan, taking place over a rousing game of vampire baseball, is even more ridiculous in the film than it was on the page. The final climax, where one vampire kidnaps Bella in order to get Edward to chase him, feels way too rushed.  The emotions in the movie's final scenes are told through dialogue rather than shown through acting and editing.

The movie is gorgeous; Forks is lush and green, and the famous scene where Bella and Edward lie down together in a meadow is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The final scene, where Edward escorts Bella to her prom, is also quite lovely, as Bella and Edward dance in a gazebo covered in fairy lights. The movie's soundtrack is quite effective at using pop music to help convey a sense of place and emotions throughout the film.

About the Director
Before Twilight, Catherine Hardwicke was probably best known for Thirteen, a controversial 2003 film about two 13-year-old girls who drink, take drugs, steal, and engage in self-mutilation. The co-writer and star of that film was cast as Rosalie Cullen in Twilight. Another of Hardwicke's major releases, Lords of Dogtown, deals with young adults. It tells the story of the California teens who invented skateboarding.

Curriculum Ties
This film is not well-suited for use in any curriculum, though it would certainly be a popular choice for a movie night for a school or library event. 

Viewing Interest/Level
The movie would probably be of interest to junior high students and up. The movie is rated PG-13 for some scenes of violence and one scene of sensuality (though there is no nudity).

Challenge Issues
I don't think that this movie would be likely to be challenged. Adults tend to understand the MPAA rating system well, and the movie is appropriately rated PG-13. While sometimes supernatural films or books are challenged by people who find them offensive to their religious beliefs, Twilight was written by a Mormon writer and is praised by many for its themes of abstinence.

Selection Criteria
The movie is an absolute phenomenon among young adults! A recent Twilight-themed party was the most successful young adult programming event my branch library had had in recent years.