Kristen Stewart stars as Bella Swan, who has recently moved from sunny Phoenix, AZ to live with her father Charlie (played perfectly by Billy Burke) in the small town of Forks, WA, which happens to be the most rainy place in America. Bella voluntarily condemns herself to a life of rain boots and parkas, choosing to be miserable for the sake of her newlywed mother’s happiness. She quickly settles into her new home, a process which includes getting her very own truck and enrolling in the local high school.
At Forks High School, Bella is an unwilling object of curiosity for the overall population and particularly a favorite with the males. It is during lunch on her first day that she gets her first glimpse of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his four adopted siblings, who enter the cafeteria lined up like models on a runway — I half-expected each of them to strike a pose before sitting down at their table. Bella is noticeably drawn to bronze-haired Cullen, and it isn’t hard to see why. Edward’s devastatingly handsome face stands out, even among his beautiful brothers and sisters.
After lunch, Bella walks into her Biology class, only to find that the only empty seat is next to Cullen. He becomes inexplicably hostile upon getting a big whiff of her scent and remains tense throughout the class, glaring at her until the bell rings, when he hurriedly exits the room. Bella is confused by his behavior, especially when he doesn’t attend school for the next week. It isn’t until Bella visits the beach at La Push — the reservation where the Quileute Native Americans reside — that she discovers Edward’s secret. Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) explains the myth about the “Cold Ones” — vampires, with whom the Quileutes have a long-standing treaty. While Lautner talked, I had trouble paying attention to anything he said; I was too busy shuddering in disgust over his awful hair.
Atrocious wig aside, Bella now knows the truth about Edward, but instead of being repulsed, she is even more drawn to him. Edward cannot help but respond to her attraction. Bella is his “own brand of heroine,” possessing the sweetest blood he’s ever smelled and making him want to forgo his vegetarian vampire days and go back on his promise to never kill humans for sustenance. Other vampires, however, have no qualms about killing innocent humans to survive.
The famous meadow scene of the novel, during which Edward exposes his true self to Bella, is a failure of epic proportions. Considering the scene is the inspiration for the entire story (coming to Meyer in a fateful dream), it could have been given much more attention. Taking place in the murky woods behind Forks High School, Edward leads Bella to the sole ray of sunshine that is conveniently shining on a flat rock, which Edward steps onto for the big reveal. Instead of sparkling like a diamond held up to sunlight, his skin looks as if it were rolled in glitter.
Meyer describes Edward Cullen as being inhumanly beautiful, with a musical voice that would cause angels to weep (not really, but you get the picture). These are hard shoes to fill, yet Pattinson has no trouble looking the part, which almost makes the film worth the five hours I spent in line, waiting for the midnight showing. Although Pattinson is an excellent Edward Cullen, Stewart isn’t believable as Bella Swan. Her coarse voice and single facial expression harshly contrast with her proclamations of love. The obvious chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson does little to compensate for the actress’ inability to express any discernible emotion.
Dialogue is sparse throughout the film for everyone except Edward and Bella. While the vampires’ biggest task is to look intimidating and crouch like an animal when the scene calls for it, Bella’s human friends seem to be there for the comic relief. Their foolish behavior seems to stem from an adult’s mistaken idea of how teens today converse with each other. It is not surprising that screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg finished the script in a mere six weeks.
It’s not difficult to pinpoint exactly where the film goes wrong. Director Catherine Hardwick should be commended for filming under a constant downpour of rain to stay true to the setting of the story. Nothing, however, can make up for mediocre acting from an inexperienced cast combined with a less-than-stellar screenplay. Fans of the book may enjoy seeing their beloved characters come to life, but it is better to go into the movie without any expectations so you won’t be too disappointed when they aren’t met.