There’s a little bloodsucker on the way…
Everything has been leading up to this moment. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), skintight in a modern yet elegant white wedding dress, walks down the aisle, surrounded by nature. She grabs the arm of her father (Billy Burke), who is keeping as quiet as he can, though he’s clearly battling emotions. Eagerly waiting for her at her altar is her fiancé, vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who continually smiles at her like a gentleman in his well-cut tuxedo. We hear little from the preacher, though we cut back and forth between Bella and Edward’s vows. As they kiss passionately, the camera surrounds them both, revealing how lost they are in this perfect moment: all the guests, including the entire Cullen clan and Bella’s friends and family, have disappeared. Only when they hear the applause do Bella and Edward snap back to reality.
It’s a good thing they’re officially married, because God knows the first three Twilight movies exhausted the metaphor of abstinence. We get a little more of that in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1namely, when Edward takes Bella to a private island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon; he leads her across the threshold to a luxurious beachside shack, and after diving naked in the moonlight, they finally consummate her marriage in her bedroom. They saved each other, which is in keeping with the Mormon beliefs of Stephenie Meyer, author of the original books. Bella is all smiles when she wakes up the next morning, although she is shocked to discover that the bed has almost been destroyed. Later, she discovers bruises all over her body. Edward feels terrible. Bella could have told her that this happens to a lot of vampires, but then again, she would have no way of knowing. Neither, really, would he.
The sermons will officially end when Edward finally bites Bella and turns her into a vampire, which has so far gone against his moral code. But keep in mind that this story has been split into two chapters, I suspect because it was done so successfully with the latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise. For now, we switch gears and venture into much more controversial territory, namely abortion. On their honeymoon, Bella discovers that she is pregnant. This would be impossible under normal circumstances, but because her child is half-vampire, she is gestating at an alarming rate. When the newlyweds return to the Cullens’ home in Washington, Bella’s health has drastically worsened. The baby is literally destroying her from the inside out. Her bones break. Vital nutrients are depleted. As her stomach expands, the rest of her body becomes sallow and gaunt.
This generates a debate. Some of the Cullens refer to him as a fetus, while others emphasize that he is a baby. Some, including Edward, believe that the pregnancy should be terminated. Others, including Bella, cannot bear the thought of ending a life. This didactic plot is complicated by the arrival of hotheaded teen wolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), who knew that Edward’s vampiric strength could have killed Bella in her bedroom, and yes, I’m holding back the laughs right now. Jacob’s pack leader plans to murder Bella’s unborn child, because he believes she is a threat. It’s not adequately explained why he feels that way, but I admit I never bothered to familiarize myself with Meyers’ books or even the movies, so I’m sure I missed something along the way. Whatever the reason, Jacob must learn to let go of his hatred of the Cullens if he is to save Bella from canine carnage.
sunrise it’s like all Twilight movies he’s not very good at. What surprises me is that my reasons for not liking it don’t reflect my feelings for the other movies. If anything, I’ve come to expect soapy melodrama, excessive length, unreasonable pacing, tense performances, and preachy subtexts. What I wasn’t prepared for was the inconsistency in tone, the movie violently shifting from inappropriate humor to overwhelming solemnity. The latter is mostly reserved for later scenes, which are surprisingly unsettling given the context of the story. For the first time seeing a Twilight film, I was actually unsettled by some of the images.
The film was directed by Bill Condon, who wrote the screenplay for chicago and was a writer and director of dream girls. Given this history, I would expect him to have a much better ear for music. I’m not referring to the Carter Burwell score; the incidental soundtrack is a collection of alternative rock songs, all of which are thematically and structurally inconsistent with the scenes they are paired with. He said in a 2010 interview with Mania.com that he was “very excited to have the opportunity to bring the climax of this saga to life on screen”, but considering some of the other films he has directed, including Kinsey Y gods and monstersI have a sneaking suspicion that his attachment to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 it was strictly for rent. Maybe I’ll feel different once Part 2 opens next November. On the other hand, maybe it won’t.