The one thing we can unequivocally say about Stephenie Meyer is she made reading cool. Thanks to her modern-day retelling of “Wuthering Heights” (angst and all), Meyer got kids out of the fresh air and into the air conditioned rooms of their homes, libraries, cars, and planes. Everywhere you turned in the summer of 2008, black covers with apples, flowers, and chess pieces stared back at you. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood wanted a slice of the “Twilight” money pie.
Thus, sparkly vampires went from being an imaginary silliness to a celluloid reality. Twi-hards swooned, Twi-moms fantasized about shirtless 16-year-old actors, and boyfriends pretended they didn’t care about Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) first world problem decision between vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Each year another TWILIGHT SAGA film made the rounds, and each year those films continued to yell “look out world, ladies want some vampire loving.” It doesn’t hurt that Pattinson also rocks some really fetching hair.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end—even for vampires. This week’s release of the first part of the final TWILIGHT film, TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN: PART 1, is both bittersweet and timely. We have waited patiently to see Bella marry her long time bad decision, Edward, their honeymoon on Island Esme (named for his vampire mother), and the half-vampire, half-human result of that island saucytime. Each previous film lead to these moments, and if you are just wanting the bare facts: yes Jacob takes off his shirt in the first two minutes, yes Bella and Edward break their bed getting handsy during their honeymoon, and yes the film features the notorious birthing scene. Although that last bit is not as deliciously graphic as one would have hoped. But I guess director Bill Condon and studio Summit spent more energy getting a PG-13 for teenage thrusting than they did on blood splattering. But I digress.
TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 once again begins with Bella’s voice over saying some stuff that I guess is pertinent to her upcoming wedding in the next scene. But as mentioned above, Jacob takes his shirt off in the first two minutes and anything in the few minutes during and after that is a blur. Bella has chosen Edward, and Jacob’s only recourse is his rippling abs—point Jacob. (Start your own mental tally now.) Jacob isn’t the only one questioning Bella’s reasoning for marrying Edward. Her father, Charlie (Billy Burke), expresses his hesitance all the way through his moustache, and her flighty mother, Renee (Sarah Clarke), is once again in the running for Best Mom of Year award by just barely showing up like a stoned hippie version of a Stepford Wife. Even her loyal friends (who get more fanfare in the films than they ever did in the books) attend the wedding wondering if Bella “will be showing” in her wedding gown. They jest, but they’re actually on to something.
But nothing is going to stop this teen bride from turning her back on both her family and her mortality—as Edward vowed during the past two films to change her only after their wedding. Time is the enemy in the film’s first third, and Condon shows his “Oscar” winning talent early on by focusing on Bella’s fear of time; pacing the film through a mixture of quick cuts and longing, deliberate glances between the two lovers. This constant fear of losing time haunts Bella, plaguing her with visions of death she cannot escape. Not her own death, which she willing chooses to welcome, but the death of those she loves at the hands of the Volturi (a council of vampires self-appointed to govern over all vampire laws).
After a delightfully funny wedding toast starring Academy Award nominated actress Anna Kendrick (Jessica), the film goes downhill. Condon took great care in showing the love and fear between both Bella and Edward, but he doesn’t show the same respect to the honeymoon portion. I will be the first to admit “Breaking Dawn” is a dense novel full of pages unnecessary to commit to film, however the first sexy moment between the eager Bella and her sexless new husband comes off as more of a joke than the turning point it really is for the young couple. Both Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg spend too much time focusing on Edward’s fear of hurting Bella, who upon seeing the marks he left on her shoulder seems more repulsed by her than happy she’s still in his arms. He keeps her far away until she finally breaks down in tears under him, literally begging for his touch. Of any moment in the “Twilight” franchise, this was the most heart wrenching, painful, and downright manipulative. No person in a committed, loving, healthy relationship should feel so rejected, especially not in a film about enduring love.
When the couple finally returns from South America to Forks, Bella is with child and the remainder of BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 is spent arguing whether mother or child’s life is more important. All the Cullens, except Rosalie (Nikki Reed), wish for Bella to end the pregnancy before it ends her. However she refuses, cherishing the little vampire-human bean inside her belly more than her own life. Again, we spend too much time in extreme close-ups, shots held longer than necessary and wooden acting from Lautner (who at least takes his shirt of three more times, for good measure). Bella’s CGI makeup during the final days of her pregnancy suggest Stewart would make a mighty fine addition to a Holocaust film, but even these visual tricks can’t fix a film so lost in its own weight. BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 is too busy, tries too hard, and with every tedious minute fails to recapture the respect Condon almost had for the source material in the first twenty minutes. Which is unfortunate, as this film is hands-down the prettiest and most faithful adaptation in the series. Hopefully the second half will prove to be the missing puzzle piece viewers need.
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