Review of Twilight (2008) by Venkatesh S — 11 Feb 2013

Surprisingly faithful to the book. But if you haven't read the book, I can't really recommend it. I'm not a religious follower of this cult phenomenon but I appreciated the fresh approach and interpretation of teenage vampirism.

The chemistry between the two leads was great. The other vampires were equally as entertaining. The human characters were however, annoying. But I think that was the point. Except for the relationship between Bella and her father, which was excellent and brought subtle humor to the grim subject matter.

The biggest fault the film had was Catherine Hardwicke (who's proven herself as a very capable director in the past) as she kept spinning the camera and moving it in and out, up and down. Chill out Cathy.

When Bella figures out that Edward is a vampire, the actors can pretty much convey the intensity without your camera zooming at them at eight different angles. Laughable man. The best scene in the film was probably the dinner scene that had gorgeously soft lighting, and a simple two shot back and forth between the leads as they talked.

Less is way more. Overall, a fun world was created and it's an easy movie to sit through.