Last Sunday, I saw TWILIGHT with my teenage niece only three days after reading the book for the first time. I had the advantage of not having to go through the “Rob Effect,” which is what Twilight author Stephenie Meyer called the rabid negative reaction of fans against Robert Pattinson’s casting as Edward Cullen. That’s mainly because I already knew beforehand that Cedric Diggory would now morph from a wizard to a vampire, and at that time, I really didn’t care.Making movie adaptations of a popular novel is always very tricky. I’m glad I realized early enough that I had to enjoy a movie adaptation for what it is – a movie – and not obsessively gripe over every single departure from the book. That is, IF the changes are minor and does not affect how the story goes or how the characters are written. I know moviemakers will never be able to put in all of my favorite scenes and dialogues from the novel, so that’s not a big deal for me, but I DO have an issue if the character itself is changed to add more drama (like the petty, rebellious High King Peter in Prince Caspian).

I’d say Twilight was pretty much a success in that it made the book come to life, and it really stayed true to the spirit of the novel. Here are some of my thoughts on the movie:

CASTING

Edward Cullen – Okay, so I mentioned the Rob Effect already. I don’t get it. Seriously, is there any human being who can live up to how people imagined Edward Cullen to be? Robert Pattinson is not a pretty boy like Zac Efron, or handsome in the Brad Pitt kind of way – but he’s a looker. Plus, he has a very chiseled face that can look both scary and beautiful at the same time. For some reason, he reminds me a bit of Heath Ledger. I think he’ll do well as a character actor by the way he portrayed the dark, conflicted side of Edward, which I didn’t really get from reading Twilight. (I understood it more when I read the leaked draft of Midnight Sun, a retelling of Twilight from Edward’s point of view). I particularly liked the way he first said “hello” to Bella during their Biology class – tentative, uncomfortable, but calculating. I also loved his reaction when Bella asked him if he got contacts, where he gave some incoherent excuse and stalked off. What an attractive, morose Byronic hero.

Bella Swan – Wow, Kristen Stewart was amazing, and physically, she’s how I imagined Bella to be – plain-looking but lovely. I was actually surprised at how her facial expressions, body posture and hand gestures were able to reveal the internal turmoil that Bella was going through. This was described in minute detail in the book, and I was worried the actress wouldn’t be able to show this on screen. But Kristen Stewart did, and I’m really impressed. My only problem was that I kept remembering her in Panic Room during the entire movie.

Charlie Swan – Well, that wasn’t how I imagined Charlie to be – I thought he’d be a bit more shy and quiet, but Billy Burke did a great job. I loved how he cocked a rifle when he told Bella to bring in Edward.

Alice Cullen – Ashley Greene was exactly how I imagined Alice to be, except that I pictured her to be even shorter in person, and have even shorter hair. Plus, I thought she should look a wee bit younger, but it really doesn’t matter. Her pitch during the baseball game looked a bit too difficult though, what with kicking her leg straight up like that.

Jasper Hale – Hmmm, Jackson Rathbone really DID look like he was in pain, but I wasn’t sure about the zombiesque look. Plus I thought Jasper should have been a bit bulkier, and more handsome. His character wasn’t that well-developed, but that’s not his fault.

Rosalie Hale – No offense, but I was imagining someone prettier than Nikki Reed. She’s pretty, just not… heartbreakingly beautiful, as I thought Rosalie would be. Well, I think I’m beginning to understand the Rob Effect. Anyway, I thought she did well in her bitchy moments.

Emmett Cullen – He’s big, he’s bulky, but I was imagining Emmet to be even taller, scarier… more like a bear. I don’t know where that came from, but on the whole I think Kellan Lutz did a great job, though this monkey man only got a few lines.

Carlisle Cullen – I, uh, didn’t really like Peter Facinelli in this role. There was just something about his face that creeped me out, I don’t know. Maybe his hair was too blonde or something.

Esme Cullen – I loved Elizabeth Reaser in the role as Edward’s mother “for all intents and purposes.” She was so pretty and so warm, but didn’t she look too… well, normal? She sort of looked like a regular person to me, not a vampire.

James – Cam Gigandet was very convincing as the hunter, a nomad vampire who’s out to get Bella and make her suffer, partly in order to aggravate Edward. He was definitely a good choice, because he looked scruffy and scary and his growls made me shudder.

MUSIC

I loved all the songs they picked for each scene. I wrote another blog entry about the songs from the movie, so I guess I don’t have to go into a lot of detail here. I especially liked the musical score, because it gave the movie an ethereal, haunting feel to it.

STORY

The story did not deviate too much from the plot of the book, which was a relief. The characters were also consistent with the description from the book. I’m so glad also that they lumped a lot of direct quotes from the book into the script, without making it sound contrived or awkward.

I particularly liked the scene when Bella was leaving Charlie. Unlike in the book, where the reader knows what the plan is, the movie had the element of surprise when Bella shut the door in Edward’s face, shouting that they’re relationship is over. When she gets to her room, the audience gasps because Edward is right there helping her pack, and then they understand the plan. Another scene I liked was Bella seeing her friends leave a restaurant, happy as a normal high school kid should be, while she was fleeing for her life, because it showed how her life could have been without Edward.

Of course, there were a couple of scenes I missed from the book. One was the time Edward sat alone at the cafeteria, away from the Cullens table, and signaled to Bella to join him there. I also loved the time when Edward caused a traffic jam in order to see Bella’s horrified expression when Tyler asked her to the spring dance. I also loved the time Bella fainted in Biology class and Edward carried her to the nurse.

COMPLAINTS

The movie is not perfect of course, and I do have some minor nit-picks.

1) It seemed that Edward only stopped sucking Bella’s blood because of Carlisle, who told him to stop. If Carlisle wasn’t there, he probably would’ve killed Bella outright. I guess that added drama, but it would have been better if Edward found the will on his own, without anyone making him stop.

2) It didn’t look as if Edward’s priority at the ballet studio was to save Bella’s life – in fact, he had to be reminded of the fact that his human girlfriend was about to die. In the book, his first concern was saving Bella, and he was able to overcome the temptation of her blood because he was so scared to lose her. In the movie, it seemed as if Carlisle and Edward weren’t in such a great hurry to check on Bella, conversing almost leisurely about her state.

3) I didn’t like the effects they did when Edward showed Bella how he looked like under the sunlight. If I didn’t know what to expect, I wouldn’t really get the point. His skin didn’t glitter or shimmer the way it should.

4) I don’t think it’s easy for people who haven’t read the book to understand why the Cullens – who were seven in all – didn’t just fight James and Victoria face to face, instead of splitting into three groups. They had the numbers in their favor after all.

5) The makeup of the vampires was rather inconsistent. When they were first introduced, they were all chalky pale-white with crimson lips, but in other scenes they look almost normal. Plus, usually only their faces were pale-white, the arms and neck look normal.

6) The effect of speeding up the tape to show how fast a vampire moves look rather… cheesy.

7) I didn’t like Edward’s spidermanish prowess of climbing trees. I didn’t know vampires had that power. But I did like the tree-top scene.