Twilight
Rated PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sensuality.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Judging by the huge response to our recent review of the Stephenie Meyer book "Twilight" is based on, I'd guess a few of you were standing in line for the first midnight showing of this movie. What's a little sleep deprivation when you get to see your favorite undead leading man come to life?
The Story
After years of growing up in sunny Phoenix, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), 17, decides to move back to rainy small-town Forks, Washington, to live with her dad when her mom remarries. It's not an easy transition, though her dad (Billy Burke) is happy to have her with him and the local kids accept her fairly quickly. What's really bothering her is her unnerving attraction to beautiful-but-odd Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).
Edward runs hot and cold. At first, he seems disgusted by her, then he can't stay away from her. Then he won't talk to her. Then he dramatically saves her life with what seems to be super powers. Bella can't get him out of her mind (or her dreams) and finally learns what we've known all along: Edward is a vampire.
Edward belongs to a kind of family of vampires that have chosen not to feed on humans. He can read human minds, except for Bella's. And her blood, he tells her, smells especially sweet to him. He openly admits that it takes all his will not to feed on her. She doesn't care; she's not afraid. She loves him and trusts him completely.
Once she knows the truth, Edward insists on taking her home to meet his large vampire family. His "parents" and and several "siblings" accept her graciously, even inviting her to join them in a game of vampire super-baseball in a thunderstorm. But one of the sisters isn't so sure having a human around is a good idea.
Soon, a chance encounter with some bad-guy vampires sets Bella on the run from one who has made a personal goal of feeding on her. The Cullen family joins the chase to protect her. And Bella will do whatever it takes to keep her parents from getting caught in the crossfire.
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on its own terms
What Works: I have not read the unimaginably popular "Twilight" or any of its three sequels, so I took in the movie completely on its own merits. Director Catherine Hardwicke does a nice job of establishing the setting and the characters. She also handles her cast well. I was especially impressed by the performance of Stewart as Bella and Burke as her low-key dad, as well as the brooding, off-kilter, always hungry-looking Edward.
The refreshing thing about Meyers' story are the unexpected character choices. Sci-fi and fantasy fans have seen enough vampire fiction to know the ropes, but "Twilight" manages some surprises. For one thing, the small town kids in Bella's new school are all pretty nice to her, not a stereotyped "mean girl" among them. And for vampires, Edward's family are pillars of the community, eager to be "people" of honor in spite of being "designed to kill" (according to Edward).
And Meyers/Hardwicke hit some right notes in capturing the dizzying, apocalyptic drama and intensity of teenage love. Bella's world is a compelling place to discover and experience.
What Doesn't Work: Eventually, though, the story needs somewhere to go. Enter the evil vampire. And the hunt. And the fighting. And we've seen all this before. Bella's uncommon story becomes very ordinary at that point. A few reviewers have compared the film to the stable of teen dramas on the WB/CW over the years, and that feels pretty close by the time things wrap up.
Also - admitting that I'm not a teenage girl and have not read the books Ñ the sap in some of the dialogue between Edward and Bella gets pretty thick. That steals from some genuine reflection of first feelings of love and adds to the teen paperback romance feeling of this vampire tale.
Content: Very little is shown, but there's an undeniable sexual current to the relationship between Bella and Edward that has to do with his insane attraction to her and his need to resist snacking on her. They spend time in her room alone and begin to make out, but he has to stop before he loses control of himself. (So they never have sex.) Very little blood is witnessed until the climactic battle scene in which Bella is bitten and cut several times on camera.
Worldview
How the film's take on life compares to a biblical perspective
I know some Christian readers who have embraced the "Twilight" series, in part, because it offers achingly beautiful romance and longing without the main characters ever having sex. In that way, it's almost old fashioned. And it is refreshing to see self-control held up as a high value, even if it is by vampires.
These vamps do seem to have a type of morality. They don't want to be monsters. They want to hold to some kind of standard of humanity, though Edward seems to believe he's damned. His "dad" is a practicing doctor at the local hospital who urges Edward to "find the will" to resist his urge to feed on humans (including Bella).
Edward's refusal to have sex with Bella, in fact, comes from his fear of losing control of himself and destroying her. In that way, Edward reflects the best kind of biblical manhood. The Bible calls men to sacrifice our appetite for sexual fulfillment (and any other kind of self-gratification) for the greater good of others, including the women we befriend, date, and fall in love with.
Being a man involves being able to say no to yourself, even sometimes when a woman is saying "yes." Far too often, guys let girls decide where to draw the sexual lines in dating relationships. Most guys -- even Christian guys -- will go exactly as far sexually as the girl will allow. In the film, Bella is more than willing to keep going. Edward is the one who says no (with great difficulty).
I think one reason so many girls respond to Edward is his willingness to leave his own appetite unfulfilled as an act of sacrificial love. That's both highly romantic and the right thing to do, from God's perspective. (Check out the Song of Songs for a biblical story of romance, sexual longing, and self-control.)
On the other hand, Bella is walking a path far too many women follow, willing to die, to become evil, to sacrifice her own soul to hang on to love with Edward forever. It's not just that she loves him; she lives in fear of losing him. But just as God calls guys to control their appetites out of love for Him and others, He calls women to trust their hearts to Him above all others. He calls them to commit their lives first to Him, trusting Him to bring the right man at the right time.
Solomon warned us all to guard the spring of life that flows from our hearts. (See Proverbs 4:23.) Bella has not only left her heart unguarded from Edward. She has unlocked the gate, left it open, and rolled out the red carpet.
For Christians, especially, no guy is worth hanging on to if you have to compromise your convictions and commitments to God to do so. Forbidden fruit may taste sweet in the moment, but it always leads to regret. Put positively: What we sacrifice in the moment to honor God always leads to a more fulfilling option down the road, even if that doesn't turn out to be a brooding and beautiful bad boy.
Questions:
- If you read the book, how does the film stack up? Thrilled or disappointed?
- If you're a little (or a lot) infatuated with Edward, put it into words: Why are you so drawn to that character?
- Are you happy with the casting? Who else would you have maybe liked to have seen in the roles of Edward and Bella? Other characters?
- Does anything about the idea of being a vampire appeal to you? If so, what? From a Christian perspective, do you think it's an unhealthy thing to long for supernatural power and immortality outside of God?
- Assuming they end up making all the books into movies, which one are you looking forward to the most?
- Girls: How would you feel about a guy who said no to you if you wanted to get more physical in a dating relationship? Would you respect that decision or resent it? Do you want a guy to have a higher standard than you do in that area?
- Guys: Do you identify with Edward? Do you see it as your job in a dating relationship, in part, to protect girls from your own appetites? Why or why not?
