Why Twilight is Bad for Cinema

I’m a little ashamed to admit this in public, but I saw New Moon on opening day. In my defense, it was Ms. PD’s idea. In all sincerity, though, I feel it my duty to encourage you—no, beg, you—not to spend your money on this movie.

Speak

By way of introduction, let’s go back in time to one of Kristen Stewart’s earlier films: Speak. Originally based on a novel, the film tells the story of Melinda Sordino (played by Stewart) as she comes to terms with being raped.

Stewart is very good in this movie, which features very little of her actually speaking to people. She is portraying a character who has retreated almost entirely into her own mind, and her stilted, lifeless delivery portrays Melinda’s pain and confusion brilliantly. Watching Speak, one easily accepts that Kristen Stewart really has experienced the events her character did; that Stewart is truly acting, and making conscious decisions about her portrayal of Melinda.

Thus my willingness, if not excitement, to try Twilight. Here was an actress I was familiar with, and whose work I admired as nuanced and absorbing. I could not have been more mistaken.

The Twilight Saga

The problem with Kristen Stewart’s acting in the Twilight Saga is that she, apparently, isn’t acting. I can’t speak to her personality in the real world, but on the screen, she appears to have just the one delivery: stilted, lifeless, one dimensional and, frequently, grating.

In Speak, her failure to engage the other actors was appropriate for her character. In the Twilight Saga, it only serves to remind the viewer that this is two hours they’re never getting back.

It’s my birthday….

Can I ask for something…?

Kiss me….

A typical exchange, from the trailer.

When Bella cuts her finger on a birthday present, Stewart seems genuinely shocked—not that she managed to cut herself on a box—but that she’s bleeding. It’s as if her character has never experienced, or indeed heard of, a paper cut before. Except that she immediately identifies it as a paper cut, and then proceeds to stare at her finger like she’s never seen it before, while perplexedly delivering, in the same tone as her plea for Edward’s kiss, the following line: Ow…. Paper cut….

One would think that Bella, surrounded by a family of vampires—one of whom is known for his desire to feast on Bella’s blood—would have reacted differently. One would think, actually, that Bella would attempt to put distance between her and the vampire. At the very least, one would think Bella might show some emotion after getting a paper cut (they hurt!). But no, it’s just two short, emotionless, sentence fragments.

Bella as Vessel

Over at The Oatmeal, Bella is described as “an empty shell … that way, any female can slip into it and easily fantasize about being this person.” This probably works well enough in the novel, where the act of reading can itself be a form of creation and where the reader can quite easily imagine being the main character. In my experience, such a thing is at best quite difficult in a film. We do not, in general, go to the movies to become the characters, but rather to witness their existence. The fourth wall of film is that of audience-as-viewer, not audience-as-creator.

It may be that Kristen Stewart’s performance is designed to hide her actual existence—to encourage audience members to pretend that they are Bella. If so, she has failed. What emerges, instead, is a character whose conflicted allegiances are expressed as general stupidity and an inability to process the world she’s become a part of.

Ultimately I don’t think that’s the intention, however. I don’t think the author quite intended for Bella to be so overwhelmed by mythology that she loses her common sense. Indeed, in the first film, Bella is able to research tribal folklore and discover Edward’s true identity. In the hands of a more capable actress, one imagines this intelligence and nuance becoming an enjoyable part of the film’s plot.

The Blind Side

What I really want to talk about though is how movies full of bad acting, bad writing, and bad directing can make so much money, while movies like The Bind Side take in a quarter as much revenue. The Blind Side, which is based on a novel and a true story, does not have to rely on that fact to draw in viewers. It stands on its own as a quality film, written and directed well, with outstanding performances by its actors.

To be certain, it features far fewer teenaged boys walking around shirtless, but if that’s the only reason left to go see the Twilight Saga, one wonders why the bother? There are plenty of shirtless boys on YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook—and they’re free!

Why Twilight is Bad for Cinema

At the end of the day, we must admit that there is a great incentive for Hollywood to produce whatever it is that the American public wants to see. If nobody goes to see a movie, it doesn’t make money, and if it doesn’t make money, then neither do the studios. This means that every theater viewing experience is a vote—not just for that particular movie, but for future movies like it.

By spending almost $500,000,000 to see New Moon in the first three weeks of release, we are telling studios to produce more bad movies like it. For the love of all that is good, please stop rewarding Hollywood for producing bad movies by going in droves to see them.