Edward Cullen: And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.
Isabella Swan: What a stupid lamb.
Edward Cullen: What a sick, masochistic lion.
A young man and young woman from feuding families fall in love with each other; forbidden love (Romeo and Juliet). A successful, rich businessman falls in love with a prostitute; unlikely love (Pretty Woman). A super sized gorilla falls in love with a beautiful blonde stage actress; impossible love (King Kong). Now we have a vampire and a regular girl that fall in love with each other. It is a forbidden, unlikely, and impossible love but they strive to keep it alive. This movie is mysterious and romantic with a dab of charming. It delves into the world of Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) and their awkward relationship which is both bizarre and painful. This is what gives the film its edge; the peculiarity of the story. It really is more of a romance than an action or sci-fi type picture. The focus is on the awkward relationship and less on the whole vampire concept. Because of this, it is a lot tamer than you might think. There is no gore, no horror, and no elaborate transformations when it comes to the vampires. It’s all about the mystery and the romance.
This was an enjoyable movie to watch but the fun started even before the movie began. You see, the screening I attended had about an 80% to 20% ratio of women to men, if I had to take a guess. It was like being in a Claire’s store. (Yeah, I have a teenaged daughter so I know what it’s like to be in a Claire’s). Actually it would be more accurate to describe it as being in a hot popular boy band concert. Let’s just say that the screams and shrieks from the ladies were a plenty from before the movie even started to the very end and plenty in between. It is obvious to me now as to whom this movie appeals to. Yes, you can consider this a chick flick but it has enough action and intrigue that the guys might enjoy it too. The special effects were decent but not over the top so as not to distract from the intention of the story. The cinematography and the various locations used in the film were distracting but in a good way. The bulk of the story takes place in Forks, Washington. The typical cloudiness and grey skies were more than an appropriate backdrop for the vampires but even so, the Pacific Northwest is beautiful territory and this film does a nice job of presenting it to you. The music used in this film is also pretty good. I’m a big fan of Claire de Lune by Debussy. The script was relatively simple, but direct and mature. It blended very well with the current scenario, so if the current scene was awkward and weird between the characters, so was the script. If the scene was loving and romantic, so was the script. What probably impressed me the most, besides the story itself, was the acting. Considering that no larger than life actors were cast in this film and that for the most part the cast is young with limited cinematic experience, they all did a good job. It was a very good looking cast too. I could tell by the screams from the audience. Of course the superior performances were given by the two stars of the movie, Robert and Kristen. Director Catherine Hardwicke (Nativity Story, Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen) has done some pretty good work and I think she topped them all with this latest endeavor.
Review By Cine Marcos
