BREAKING DAWN PT. 1 (Condon, 2011) - Yes, I went to see it. Yes, in the cinema - which makes this the first time I actually put money in Stephenie Meyer’s pocket*. I blame Glenn Kenny and Manohla Dargis, who both made it seem interesting. It is, in parts, but it’s also profoundly silly, sometimes disturbing, and a bit alien to me, not because of the blood and vampires etc., but because of the princess fantasy. I’m happy that one of Bella’s few characteristics is that she dislikes dresses and high heels, but the movie tries to have its cake and eat it, too, by having one of the Cullens use Bella as a Barbie, and making a big fuss about the reveal of the wedding dress and other assorted wedding details. It didn’t help, either, that I don’t find the groom appealing in the least.
Still. There are interesting aspects here, even without going into the whole gender politics**. The dream sequence that opens the movie is gorgeous and disturbing, and the movie does a decent job of depicting the body-horror inherent in pregnancy. Kristen Stewart is also very good, turning the cipher from the book into a human being with, like, a sense of humor and everything. That, and the scenes with the werewolves arguing in voice-over are hilarious, though I doubt that was intentional.
*I saw the first movie at a press screening, skipped the middle two, and, em, “borrowed” the book, of which I read the first 2.5. Somehow, with Twilight, there’s a tendency to clarify exactly how invested you are.
**Short version of my opinion on those: Twilight models very dysfunctional relationships (unknowingly watching someone when she sleeps is extremely creepy, not romantic), it makes sex out to be both magical and scary, and Bella is pretty much a non-entity in the book, with no interests or even personality outside of boys. At the same time, it’s nice that she’s the sexual aggressor, for a change, with the guy as the gate-keeper, and that’s more subversive than many are willing to acknowledge.
