TWILIGHT
An Review of the Book and the Movie
Written by Martha Harris (7GRT)
The Plot
When seventeen year old Bella Swan moves to the small town of Forks to live with her father, her whole life changes. From the first day of starting her new school, she's immediately intrigued by the mysterious behaviour and unfamiliar looks of the Cullen family. They rarely talk to anyone else other than themselves, their skin is the palest white and they never come to school when the sun is out. After a series of events, Bella discovers that the whole family are vampires. But not in the normal way, they don't have fangs or live in freaky castles. They're just like ordinary people really – except they drink blood and they're immortal. Over time, she gets to know one of the male vampires, Edward, and they fall uncontrollably in love. She soon meets all of the Cullen's and is accepted into their family. Although they restrict themselves to only animal blood, Edward warns Bella that it could be dangerous for her to be with him because of the lust his family, but most especially himself, has for her blood. When Edward and Bella meet James, the creepy vampire tracker, their lives are turned upside down. James wants Bella's blood and nothing will stop him. Edward and Bella flee Forks with James in pursuit and the rest of the Cullen's doing their best to protect them.
The Book
This is an utterly fantastic novel and I can see why other people love it so much. From the start you have no idea what is going to happen next. This holds you in such suspense that you cannot put it down! Twilight is the first in a series of four books all of which are great. They became my life for a month while I read them and now they're gone I really miss them! I really loved getting to know the characters and watching Edward and Bella's romance slowly unfold. The characters are well developed and you can relate to each one in a different way. Twilight is a great mixture of romance and horror. The story is filled with the unimaginable obsession Edward and Bella have with each other, and the fact that their love is forbidden makes the novel so page-turning.
Although the book is hard to get into at the beginning, that may have something to do with the fact that I saw the film before reading the book. I wouldn't watch the film if you haven't read the book, I think it takes a lot of the magic out. Some of my friends and family read the book first and said it was miles better than the film. Having read the other three books in the Twilight Trilogy - New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn – I think they get better and better as the series goes on. Reading the little snippet from the beginning of New Moon (next book in the series) at the end of Twilight was what really made me want to read the other books. To sum up, I think this book is absolutely fabulous and makes you want to read it over and over. This is the ultimate book and people from all age groups can enjoy it.
The Movie
The film faithfully follows the story in the book. It is very much a love story, mixed with horror and action. I think the film has more of a comedic edge to it than the book, which is more serious, all the way through. I thought the film has great acting, particularly Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Jacob, Bella's friend (Taylor Lautner). Although the storyline is hard to understand at first, it all comes together about half way through. The pace of the story was slow at first but sped up after a short while. After seeing the film for the first time, I really wasn't convinced that it was the 'totally amazing' film people had been saying it was. But I saw it again and because I knew the storyline better, I understood more about what was happening. I am so glad I saw it twice; otherwise I dont think I would have read the books. I loved the way that the acting was so convincing and really showed how much passion Edward and Bella had for each other. I also thought the music was great and the scary music somehow made the corresponding scary scenes more heart pounding. The mystery of the first half of the film is gripping as you start to work out whats up with the Cullen family. Twilight appeals to both boys and girls although girls are more likely to go back to the cinema to see it again. The film keeps you interested throughout which makes it very special. In my opinion, this is definitely a film to be remembered.
