12A • 122 mins • 19 December

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Cam Gigandet

Rating:

If the trailer for Twilight induced immediate giggling or a head-scratching “I don’t get it,” then movie itself won’t win you over as a the convert. But that doesn’t mean that the big-screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling vampire romance is a hideous mess. Actually, it isn’t bad at all, contrary to what many expected of the impossibly earnest story of human Bella Swan’s romance with the forever young vampire hottie, Edward Cullen. Indeed, the film could have been very good if the filmmakers hadn’t packaged the story in such a low-budget and artless fashion.

Meyer’s novel serves up a story brimming with passionate first love, a moody Pacific Northwest locale, sparkling sun-touched vamps and a nasty pack of “rogue” bloodsuckers. The elements are laid out for a potentially stylish new take on vampire mythology, but instead director Hardwicke and frequent collaborator Elliot Davis prove their flat, indie-style cinematography (used to great effect in Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown) isn’t the right match for the kind of imaginative aesthetic a cinematic Twilight is just begging to show off.

The film’s quasi-success rests squarely on the shoulders of the talented cast, particularly the leads. Some have complained about Kristen Stewart’s slightly pragmatic take on Bella Swan, but her approach wisely tempers the more annoying aspects of the novel’s version of the character. As for Pattinson’s interpretation of the dreamy Edward, he does an impressive job working his way through the landmines that pepper the more fraught scenes with Bella, then earns high marks by giving Edward a sly, dry sense of humour that grounds the performance. When it comes to chemistry, the pair has it in spades: the couple’s attempts to work around Edward’s dangerous bloodlust for Bella make for some genuinely steamy and romantic scenes – some of the best in the film.

The supporting cast also impresses. Taylor Lautner, who plays Bella’s Native American buddy, gives a sweet performance with the potential for more in future instalments. Billy Burke is great as Bella’s emotionally awkward father, clearly in over his head as a teenager’s dad. As for the Cullen clan, most of them have to suffer in some truly atrocious wigs but Ashley Greene, as the pixie-like Alice, and Nikki Reed, as the acerbic Rosalie, come across the best in their minimal screen time.

The film’s biggest failure is the clumsy approach to portraying the more heightened aspects of Meyer’s mythology. In her world, vampires all possess the ability of incredible speed and Hardwicke chooses to visually represent that with either a lame film speed-up or painful wide shots of the vamps running with an odd pole-up-their-rump effect. Even the big climax between Edward and villainous vamp James (Cam Gigandet), gets short shrift. What should have been a last act filled with genuine suspense and intense battle is sped through like an afterthought, with a quick battle in a darkened ballet studio. It was the perfect opportunity to elevate the film into something more than just a romance by really illustrating the danger and consequences of Edward and Bella’s love. Instead, we end on Bella’s prom, with the promise of more trouble in the already green-lit sequels...

Tara Bennett