Twilight (2008)

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Yes reader, you read the title correctly, I watched Twilight. In true Millie fashion, I've been aloof to this now waning tween craze until finally, by chance, I happened upon last summer's blockbuster that had nearly every 12 year old in the country wetting her low-rise stretch jeans. Actually reader, I love this. Well, not the sexual references to 12 year olds. I love reading or watching something that's frenzy has expired. I feel it allows me a truer, if not fuller, experience. My motto: see it opening night or hunker down and playing the waiting game. And now that I've convinced you I enjoy films most when I'm far from people's opinions of them, how's about you read this review?

Stewart and Elvis, I mean, Pattinson

The basics: Based on Stephenie Meyer's novels - best selling is an egregious understatement, - Twilight follows Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), a 16 year old who's recently moved from Phoenix to Fork, Washington. Although she's expecting little from the teeny, rainy town, Bella is soon thrown for a major love loop when she meets the pale, mysterious, almost fictionally handsome Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). He never eats, skips school when it's sunny, and is cold to the touch . . . oh dear, could she have fallen hopelessly in love with . . . a vampire?!

Well, well, well reader, so what do we make of Twilight? Is it worth the incredible buzz it stirred up, the gazillions it continues to make, and the overwhelming fanfare? Sure.. Why not?

First off, I have to admit that I have not read the book. Okay Twilight fans - I have not read the book - so I cannot speak to what's missing, Kristen Stewart's being miscast, or the fact that scaling a tree is a lot less humorous in prose. That major fact aside, yea, it's a pretty entertaining film with really hot leads that is thoughtfully directed.

Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli, (from Can't Hardly Wait, woohoo!), and Pattinson

Speaking of direction, I fully endorse Catherine Hardwicke, despite the fact that many fans felt she took wind out of the book's sails and was perhaps not seasoned enough a choice. To them I say, stick some garlic in it! The Thirteen alum is obviously dealing with a completely different beast here: the Harry Potter of vampire books instead of a shockingly raw indi pic. Does it work? For the most part, it sure as stake does. Although, you are talking to a couple of gals who so easily tire with the typical Hollywood output. Gals who are thrilled with something so simple as an extra crossing in front of the camera, covering our main star for even a brief second. There is something nontraditionally presentational about Hardwicke's "Hollywood" style and I firmly believe this adds some much needed street cred (by which I mean cinematic cred) to the movie. Her shot composition is literary, and by typical mainstream standards, almost complex. There's an eerie and (somewhat shrouded) gritty quality to this film - it's obviously nuanced - and for me, for Hollywood, I cannot complain.

Sure, there are some technical elements that come off as silly (the "speed running" up a mountain and aforementioned tree scaling look a bit foolish), and yes, this does distract from the overall success of the film. It gets knocked it down a few pegs, though remains on the top rungs of the really-not-so-bad ladder.

"Like two sparrows in a hurricane . . ."

And the kids, you ask? Well, here's the ratio. For all of the film Pattinson is prettier. For most of the film Stewart's a better actor. They are both highly watchable, though I was left wanting a certain, hmmmm, maturity maybe? Perhaps their performances are ideal, for after all they are teenagers, but I'm almost speaking to their abilities as actors as much as anything else. Maybe they'll wow me in the upcoming The Twilight Saga: New Moon, but the trailer made them appear even a bit stagier than before! About a Boy and Golden Compass director Chris Weitz has large expectations to fill for sure . . . and maybe we can see some fangs this time?

Jealous.

Before I leave you to the meter, there is one thing that must be said. This film, and the story that inspired it I imagine, is a romantic's wet dream, especially if said romantic can easily recall those awkward days of high school where fantasy and day dreaming reigned supreme. There is an undeniable chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson that makes the naive-turned-super-intense-love between these two teenagers root-for-able. We all know I'm a sucker for a good love story (pun most certainly intended) but there is something all the more enticing about the teenage version. Something that reminds me of a place where nothing like the movies ever happened, but there existed a genuine belief that it might. A wide-eyed hope that fades pretty much as soon as that cap and gown are donned for the first and last time (or the first time you get in a B+ in college, ugh).

So, to recap, it's not Murnau by any stretch of the imagination, but it's arguably something to shake a stake at. Oh puns!

Millie's bees to knees meter (1 bee = blah, 10 bee = hoo-rah!): 6.5

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli
Distributor: Summit Distribution
Released: 2008