The Twilight Series

Stephenie Meyer
Based on the best-seller by Stephenie
Meyer, Twilightfollows awkward teen Bella Swan
(Kristen Stewart) as she moves to Forks, Washington and
inevitably falls for a mysterious boy named Edward
(Robert Pattinson). Director Catherine Hardwicke -
working from Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay - does a
superb job of capturing the feel of Meyer's admittedly
evocative novel, as the film has been infused with a
deliberate pace that proves instrumental in establishing (and perpetuating) the source material's
very specific atmosphere. And although Hardwicke is rarely able to get inside Bella's head to the
same extent as the book, Twilight benefits substantially from the palpable chemistry between
Stewart and Pattinson - with the strength of Bella and Edward's budding relationship effectively
carrying the proceedings through its sporadically less-than-enthralling stretches. The stars'
superb work is matched by an impressive supporting cast that includes Billy Burke, Nikki Reed,
and Anna Kendrick, and it's subsequently increasingly difficult not to become wrapped up in the
unabashedly melodramatic exploits of the various characters. The thrilling, unexpectedly
propulsive third act - in which Bella is pursued by an evil vampire named James (Cam Gigandet)
- ensures that Twilight concludes on a thoroughly positive note, thus cementing the movie's place
as an apt adaptation that effectively lays the groundwork for future installments.
Twilight's a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly ugly. Fortunately for Twilight fans who've
been working themselves into a frenzy over the film's anticipated release, what works
in Twilight heavily outweighs what doesn't. Director Catherine Hardwicke andscreenwriter
Melissa Rosenberg do a great job of not only capturing the tone of Stephenie Meyer's teen
vampire romance book but improving it with dialogue grounded in reality and a batch of action
scenes to fill in rocky storytelling spots. Twilight's cast also should be commended for nearly
living up to Meyer's unobtainable standards.
Robert Pattinson (and his extraordinary head of hair) and Nikki Reed had particularly rough jobs
as their characters are described with such hyperbole in Meyer's books that no human on the
planet could possibly look the part. And let's face it no one in the cast looks exactly how every
reader pictured the characters. We all have different visions of Edward, Bella, and the Cullens
floating around in our heads. So kudos to Pattinson and Reed for tackling roles that got them
picked apart in pretty nasty reports when the initial word of their casting surfaced. Pattinson's
and Reed's performances as Edward and Rosalie should silence all the naysayers.


The Story
Through a minimal amount of voice-over we learn Bella's leaving Arizona and the sun
behind to live with her dad, Police Chief Charlie Swan, in Forks, Washington. Her first day at
school she makes friends with Jessica, Angela, Eric and Mike, and spotscue drum roll
pleaseEdward Cullen. Be still our beating hearts his already is.
If you've read the books, you know Bella falls quickly for the strangely cold, strangely detached
17 year old who occupies the same table at lunch every day with his brothers and sisters. The
Cullens stick together and their fellow high school students tend to leave them alone. They're not
ostracized, but they're definitely not the first to get invitations for sleepovers. But Bella sees
something everyone else apparently misses or wisely chooses to ignore.

The Cullens at their favorite lunch table.
The film puts Edward and Bella together quicker than the book, which is fine because the most
interesting parts of Meyer's story focus on Bella and Edward by themselves. Edward has to deal
with balancing his desire to bite Bella with his longing to kiss her, which makes for one angst-ey
vampire. And all Bella knows is that she's found the guy she wants to be with; the fact he's a
vampire is pretty much a non-issue.
The Cullen family is the exception to the vampire rule, opting to feast on animals rather than
people. They've adapted well to this lifestyle and although they're by no means totally immune to
the smell of humans, they've progressed to the point where they can live amongst us fairly
normally. But when vampires who do love humans to death come to town, it's up to Edward
and his family to keep Bella safe.
The Good
Meyer's story takes place in Forks, Washington, and filming in the Pacific Northwest was
absolutely the right decision. The gloomy, overcast skies further add to the brooding quality of
the tale, and of course are necessary since these vampires come out in the daylight but stay out of
the sun (their sparkling skin would be a dead giveaway they're something outside the norm).
Pattinson as Edward totally works. Now he's known to millions of Twilight supporters around the
world, but Hardwicke cast him when practically no one (other than some Harry Potterpeople)
knew his name. Pattinson took the film Edward to a slightly darker place than the book Edward,
and in doing so made him more appealing - on multiple levels.
Also earning high marks are the performances by Billy Burke (Charlie), Taylor Lautner as Jacob
(though his screen time is extremely limited), and the actors who play the Cullen family
Elizabeth Reaser (Esme), Peter Facinelli (Dr Carlisle Cullen), Nikki Reed (Rosalie), Kellan
Lutz(Emmett), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper) and stand-out Ashley Greene whose Alice is exactly
as written in Meyer's book series. Anna Kendrick, Justin Chon, Michael Welch, and Christian
Serratos fill the roles of Bella's classmates and are actually more interesting as portrayed
onscreen than in the novel thanks to Rosenberg's ability to speak teen.
The Bad
There aren't as many quiet romantic moments between Edward and Bella as there are in Meyer's
book, which of course has a lot to do with the fact you cannot cram every page from the book
into the feature film. Yet I really missed a few of the more memorable tender scenes between the
two that stand out in the novel.
Also, the meadow scene Well, it's not the book's meadow scene that's for sure. Still, it's in the
movie and that's thanks to tireless campaigning by director Hardwicke who knew how important
it was to Twilight fanatics. And, sadly, the baseball scene seems off. I can't put my finger on
exactly what's wrong with it, but it feels a little forced and hokey at the same time. Maybe it's the
baseball caps.

Robert Pattinson in 'Twilight.'
I'm also not sold on Kristen Stewart's performance as Bella. Sticking this in the 'bad' section is a
stretch she's a good actress and it's not like she delivered a terrible performance. It's just this
Bella never seems happy, not even when she finds out the impossibly gorgeous vampire is in
love with her. Does Stewart smile in the film? I honestly can't remember, but if she does it's a
rare occurrence. I didn't buy Stewart as a teen in love.

The Ugly
While Facinelli's performance as Dr Carlisle Cullen is spot on, his transformation from a
brunette with a normal Caucasian skin tone to a bleached white blonde actually elicited chuckles
from the preview audience. The first time he appeared onscreen was one of those moments that
yanks you out of the film because it's so strikingly obvious he's in make-up.

This film overall was okay I think the upside of this film was definitley that readers of the book
finally got faces for their imaginary Edward and Bella. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart did
an exceptional job as the tortured couple. I still feel that Robert Pattinson should have buffed up
for the role of Edward Cullen, as it describes in the book. I was highly dissapointed with the
story aspect. They could have cut unnecessary parts out like the diner scenes, and replaced them
with actual events from the book. I feel the romance of Edward and Bella was pretty rushed and
not appreciated. Overall we still get that charm form Edward and the stubborness from Bella.
Some fans might be dissapointed it should still be seen. but in this story are not all in accordance
with the existing scene in the book of the original. and there are also some less appropriate
peeran therein. but the overall story is very touching and very make people choose to watch this
movie more than once. I actually really liked this movie. please enjoy this movie .. thanks

Name : Yuliana Minanti
NPM : 611.11.014
Class : Pre Inter4
Lecturer : Mr.Fajar