Twilight: Tell Me Again Why It’s a Good Idea to Cast “Ingénues?”
Friday, April 10th, 2009
When I purchased my Twilight DVD last week, I really had high hopes that my initial opinion of the film was incorrect. I mean, come on. I had read the books straight through four different times, each time discovering something new that led me to believe that Stephenie Meyer might be one of the most exciting story creators to some along in a very, very long time.
Yeah, I was right the first time. Not so hot.
I settled into my sheets with my Dairy Queen Blizzard and pressed play. The credits rolled and I started to get the chills as the title sizzled on the screen. The moment I heard Kristen Stewart read the lines on her first voiceover, all hope was lost. I just don’t understand why they cast her as Bella. This is a character that millions of girls could relate to, and even better, fall in love through her. In the books, she was so relatable. She wasn’t necessarily the reader’s role model as to what they wanted to be like in their lives; she served as a portal to true love that those girls and women were not presently experiencing in their own lives.
Instead, the actress that we observe onscreen is just that: an actress. The emotions that were so exquisitely described in the book are absent from her expressions and demeanor throughout the film. Now I understand how difficult it is to make a fabulous translation onto screen from a book. Nine out of ten times, the film adaptation is a much lesser version of the book it is based upon. But it’s not impossible. The Shining did it. So did both versions of Pride and Prejudice (BBC’s and Joe Wright’s). And let’s not forget two splendid John Grisham pictures: A Time to Kill and The Client.
I think that Stewart is a huge talent. From her notable debut in The Panic Room with Jodie Foster to her small turn in Into the Wild, there’s no doubt about the fact that the girl is a super actress. She even did some good work in a flop like In the Land of the Women. But for one reason or another she was unable to convey the passion and intimacy that the story needed.
Twilight received poor reviews, but of course, no one cared because of the huge movement the books had at the time, and still have. Each week, all four books are still in the top ten bestsellers nationwide. When the actors are cast in beloved books, there are always cries of horror. But while Robert Pattinson was able to inject some charisma and mysterious appeal, Kristen Stewart is flat. The. Entire. Movie.
So who should they have cast? Leighton Meester from “Gossip Girl” would have been an unexpected and spot on choice. The emotion and coldness she conveys weekly on the show is nothing less than fabulous. Other choices? Let me know.
What other book adaptations were miscast? I can think of zillions more…..
The Other Boleyn Girl, anyone?
argh…I really wanted this movie to be longer in order to include more of their interactions and more of Edward’s “gift”…and I completely agree about Kristen Stewart…and Scarlett as Mary in The Other Boleyn Girl…no thank you!
I’ll agree entirely with the Twilight analysis, except the Robert Pattinson part. Yesn he brought some mysticism to the part, but he was modernized. The book wrote him as such an old fashioned person, sorry, undead. The entire movie lost the passion!!
That’s the key to the movie’s failure to impress. The eternal passion of an other-wordly love is missing in the entire movie.
But I have to entirely disagree with the comment about “The Other Boleyn Girl”! I thought it was cast very well! Though, the role of King Henry should probably have been played by a less known actor. (Eric Bana is much better than that role! But he did bring the reality of the times to the role, that King is GOD.)
You just got your blog a spot in my bookmarks
Please, can you PM me and tell me few more things about this, I am really fan of your blog site! I just subscribed to your feed.
Love this post! Thanks for this. I’ll be sure to come back again. P.S: I’ve bookmark your site as well.
I adore your weblog very much. Will read more. Keep up the brilliant info on it. ty
I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.
Hi buddy, your blog’s design is simple and clean and i like it. Your blog posts are superb. Please keep them coming. Greets!!!
Aw, this was a really quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
It looks that you’ve put a good amount of effort into your article and I want a lot more of these on the World Wide Web these days. I truly got a kick out of your post. I do not have a bunch to to say in reply, I only wanted to register to say marvellous work.
This is just awesome. I think this is a great article. I’ve checked out your other posts and must say they are very informative indeed. Hope to read more from your site.
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also. Keep working ,great job!