After years spent behind the saga, between specials, reviews, news, press conferences and various events, do you really feel the need for me to introduce you, once again, to what has established itself as the literary and then cinematic phenomenon of the last four years?
When we hear the word Twilight, we all know what we're talking about, even if only by hearsay. Vampires who fill up with glitter when exposed to the sun, delirious girls, a mythology distorted as if nothing had happened, wigs of every shape and shade or simply any gossip, harmless or malicious, that can circulate around a film that has in fact had a success beyond all expectations.
Whatever anyone says to it, Twilight continues to fill theaters like few other films in recent years, protecting itself with its solid fanbase from any external attack. So there's no point beating around the bush, huffing or sighing (who believes that there isn't even one of you readers who isn't curious to see what will happen to Bella and Edward?) and let's tackle this fourth chapter of the saga once and for all.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, vampires and werewolves, team Edward and team Jacob, take your seats and get comfortable, because The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part I is about to begin.
Where were we?
Where Eclipse ends with the agreement between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) that they would get married, Breaking Dawn begins with the arrival at the homes of relatives and friends of the long-awaited wedding invitation. One of the most spectacular events in Forks, given the commitment that all the Cullens, especially Alice (Ashley Greene), are putting into organizing a perfect ceremony from every point of view.
The two manage to overcome relatives and friends, mix-ups and worries unscathed and even Jacob (Taylor Lautner) manages to dance with the bride for a last chat between "hot" people and they leave for Isle Esme, the destination of their honeymoon.
Despite the various and exhausting, especially for Bella, attempts to resist the temptations of the flesh, the time spent together ends with an unexpected pregnancy that, due to its rare nature and poorly documented origins, risks endangering the entire life of the newly married Mrs. Cullen.
Edward is out of his mind, Bella wants to keep the baby at all costs and the werewolves see the whole thing as a huge threat to the whole of Forks. With each passing day the girl becomes weaker and the threat of an imminent final battle is getting closer.
Where are we going to end up?
If you have never read the books, have stayed away from any fansites and have even avoided opening newspapers at certain times of the year, you will be among the few who, at the end of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I, will be left with bated breath and the hungry doubt of finding out what could ever happen (and also those to whom I would advise not to read this paragraph).
For everyone else, the ending is already around the corner and seems to promise to get closer to the viewer exactly as Stephenie Meyer 's words have described it in her books. The author, in fact, always present on the set since the beginning of the project, for this last chapter took on the role of film producer and made sure that the work done by Melissa Rosenberg did not stray too far from her basic idea.
Breaking Dawn is a novel of 754 pages: too many to be confined to a single film, yet not enough to support the weight of two films. When I read the book, the moment when Bella suddenly opens her eyes and they are red, it really shook me, says the screenwriter, It wasn’t a moment when I was surprised at all, rather that moment contained a certain obviousness.
I felt that it was a natural turning point in Bella’s transformation, who went from a human condition to a life as a vampire and a mother. They are really two different worlds for her. An almost obvious division of the two chapters, with the first one concluding with the end of the mortal life of the protagonist, a real ideal sigh of relief given how much Bella has passionately expressed from the beginning her desire to stop being a clumsy human with a palpitating heart.
Not to bring up the usual story of mythology completely ignored to create vampires who potentially have no defects - apart from that strange skin irritation for which they sparkle under the sunlight - but who would ever blame our protagonist?
A somewhat inflated narrative, a somewhat expanded plot that, despite certainly not allowing secondary characters to take advantage of this vastness to come forward (at least not in this first part), remains faithful to the original narrative construction, while allowing both stories (part I and part II, to be clear) to function independently.
The triad
Twilight now owes its success not only to the story written by Meyer who, with her brazen simplicity and slightly old-fashioned taste, has managed to charm millions of readers. By now the faces of the actors chosen as protagonists have become iconic of the characters themselves, so much so that some still struggle to separate the two things.
So let's start with them: how did they manage this time? The change of director seems to have done good to the entire cast (or at least to those who manage to carve out five seconds of acting in the film) and Bill Condon almost manages to perform the miracle.
In her descriptions of the characters, Stephenie Meyer tends to constantly underline the distinctive traits of each of them, so much so that in the end the reader's mind remains imprinted for life with Edward's crooked smile and Bella's clumsiness, characteristics that up until now have certainly not been expressed in the best way by all the past directors.
Praise to Condon then for having managed to make Edward Cullen smile, certainly not for long. Of course, he immediately went back to being the paranoid sulk he always was, but in the first part of the film it's almost nice to see him all fired up, smiling while making fun of his partner. And Bella dragging her heels and hiding flat shoes under her wedding dress, how exciting!
It almost makes us forget his bad habit of acting with gasps and moans, which is something that still comes back to light. Speaking of wolves that lose their fur but not their vices, Jacob doesn't need to be asked twice (in fact, not even two minutes of runtime) to take off his shirt and run bare-chested through the woods.
Just so he doesn't have to be told that he had made peace with the closet. Sarcasm aside, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner prove to be completely in tune with their characters by now, so much so that they intimately influence them with habits and movements, preferences and expressions.
It's difficult to separate the actor from the character, after years in which the two have moved in step. Certainly less brilliant are the performances of the other members of the cast who, with the exception of Boo Boo Stewart and Julia Jones , do not find the space to express themselves and remain relegated to small sporadic appearances, often so unexpected (given the total monopoly of the trio) as to be ridiculous.
Drama VS Feeling
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is a film clearly divided into two sections: but not intended as the two films that will follow each other separately at the cinema, here we are talking about an internal split in the plot. For the first hour, in fact, the film revolves around the long-awaited wedding, between preparations, ceremony and honeymoon.
A slow cadence of events that pushes the pedal on the fans' ability to transform curiosity into emotion, putting the spotlight on the fulfillment of Bella and Edward's dream of love. All very beautiful, if the film you are watching actually happens in your head, because on the screen, practically, nothing interesting really happens and when on the first night of the wedding things should become more dynamic, the camera fades to memories and sailing of white feathers.
Then the sentimentality gives way to drama and when the child in Bella's belly becomes the real protagonist, the situation improves, filling with a light emotional tension that shakes the viewer from torpor and brings him back with his attention fixed on the screen.
At the end of the screening, it seems that the director wanted to please the different types of audiences, inserting two stories into his film that intertwine with each other, giving way to each other. The whole thing is seasoned with a decent section of special effects that show off themselves especially in the final part of the film, in which all of Bella's suffering is expressed in an impressive and raw physical transformation, visually and acoustically credible and empathetic, like never seen before in the saga.
We can finally say goodbye to the rice powder greasepaint (which only rarely appear, due to the glare of the lights) and welcome characters with almost human skin and who, for the first time in their cinematic life, do not even show off their very personal collection of wigs (which had instead terrified us so much in the first promotional banner of the film). Bill Condon seems to have managed to bring out the best not only in the cast, but also in his crew.
Of course, there are still moments that we would have much preferred not to see (such as the not very credible scene of the telepathic conversation that takes place between the wolf pack or the ridiculously religious revelation of the imprinting), but the director deserves credit for having managed to give the story an aura of completely new realism, highlighting the typically human behavior of the protagonists and putting them, despite the rather adult topics, back in the same age group as the average viewer.
We already know that the rating given to the film will cause a stir, and will be the source of endless controversy about our yardsticks and/or about the ruin for cinema, literature, or all human knowledge that a series like Twilight represents. Well, now that the penultimate chapter of this infamous saga has arrived, to the delight of many and the disdain of just as many, I personally feel like saying that I agree with Antonella's judgment.
No one doubts that the source from which it draws is certainly not the best example of romance, but please accept that Twilight is not (and does not want to be) a gothic novel, but a love story with fantasy overtones, intended for a very specific audience.
Which incidentally, in this film, despite some flaws, can find everything it is looking for, including an excellent example of book-to-film adaptation, if we exclude a somewhat wordy first part and a somewhat unintentionally ridiculous central part (but that is a flaw in the original source).
The last half hour, in particular, is very convincing, especially from a technical point of view (nothing that hasn't already been seen: but also nothing of what we feared). Fans will love it. The others, can also stay away, if they prefer. But we assure you that the overall judgment, compared to the genre and the target, is largely justified.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I honestly feel like I've said it every time (and then recanted the following year) but The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I could be considered the best film in the series.
Bill Condon fits perfectly into the tradition carried forward by his predecessors, also exploiting some of the visual ideas brought to the screen by Catherine Hardwicke during the debut of the saga: panoramic views of the forest and flashes are very reminiscent of the first Twilight.
Unfortunately, the film also takes on all the defects of the book from which it is based, objectively very slow and for the most part inconclusive.
However, it improves, compared to its predecessors, for the humanity of the characters, the photography and the special effects (of course, sooner or later someone will have to teach them to make wolves digitally so that they are believable!) and confirms, once again, the excellence of the musical choice for the soundtrack, always coherent and pleasantly enjoyable even independently from the film.
We could spend a thousand words on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I, but the truth is that, once again, the project satisfies the demands of its target audience, the true driving force of the entire phenomenon and the privileged recipient of every directorial and production choice.
And they lived... happily?
The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 2 begins exactly where the previous chapter ended. Bella (Kristen Stewart) is finally a vampire and the transformation has solved all the serious physical problems that during childbirth had made people think of her possible death.
Biologically, in fact, she is dead but the girl with the awkward past has never felt more alive. Once the first problems of thirst and survival have been resolved, her beloved Edward (Robert Pattinson) takes her to meet their little (not really) Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy).
The whole family is very protective of the little girl, but Bella soon discovers that she must share her undisputed love for her daughter with her best friend. Jacob (Taylor Lautner), in fact, cannot help but constantly worry about the well-being of the little girl and follow her with his eyes no matter what step she takes.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't do otherwise: it's 'wolf stuff', as he himself tries to explain to a furious Bella: imprinting cannot be managed rationally. Renesmee grows visibly and after a few months she already seems like a child of a few years: she is half human and half vampire and, like all her relatives, she has developed a useful power.
Too bad that when Irina sees her for the first time she mistakes her for an immortal child, a true abomination according to vampire law, and runs to the Volturi to inform them of the grave betrayal committed by the Cullens.
While the ancient Italian vampires gather their own personal army and head towards Forks, the entire Cullen clan sets out to find witnesses who can prove Renesmee's human nature. But, no matter how they try to fix things, a clash could be inevitable. Even the werewolf pack, their bitter enemies by history and creation, chooses to side with the child's protection. In any case, it will come to an end.
The epic finale: it's about time!
After four years and four films dedicated to the story of Bella and Edward, let me say that I was ready to release all my frustrations (kept at bay in the past because, despite personal reservations, the films were still very functional to the target audience) on the epic conclusion.
I was almost disappointed when I discovered that The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 2 was, paradoxically, the best film of the entire project. I wasn't ready, seriously!
Having finally left behind every dilemma about how little Bella was worth and the useless suffering about who to choose between the burning wolf and the frozen vampire, Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay can focus on something more dynamic and constructive, thus alternating the classic moments of cloying romance with narrative constructions of pure action, even allowing for ironic dialogues without sighs.
Don't worry, it's not like the film has been revolutionized! The classic elements, now a cult of the saga, are always there: Taylor Lautner finds a futile reason to take off his shirt, Edward says something highly anachronistic and corny, Bella, despite now being a very powerful vampire whose wardrobe has been redone, continues to have moments in which she pantes and that's it!
But overall the film goes on without getting lost too much in the usual now useless frills. The credit, certainly, also goes to the maturation, now inevitable, of its protagonists, especially Bella Swan: having now said goodbye to everything that made her human, from ugly clothes to terrible wigs, from her sloppy look to her unfeminine movements, Bella is now a vampire and a mother, but above all a woman with full awareness of her value (deserved or not).
And the difference, at least visually, is remarkable! Even the always aseptic Kristen Stewart, famous for not showing off many facial expressions during her acting performance, shows that she has learned something and expands, even if only slightly, her repertoire.
Bill Condon, who worked simultaneously on the making of Part 1 and Part 2, finds a way to have fun with this second part. The addition of 30 new vampires and the ability to play with the physical abilities of characters who are (almost) entirely non-human, allow the director to raise the level of the action scenes and give us, after months and months in which we were promised it in vain, a battle that comes close, although not widely, to the concept of epic.
But at least it is juicy, fun, rhythmic and unpredictable. Maybe those fans who expected the same attitude during the first night of supernatural sex between Bella and Edward will be a little disappointed, but word on the street is that their dreams could come true in the Home Video version of the film.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 has that style, that mix of romance and action, of telling and seeing, that would have made its previous chapters the best films and closes the saga with a sense of alienating satisfaction.
If all the previous films, including the hesitations, were still perfectly studied products for the audience they were aimed at, Breaking Dawn 2 is that half step forward that makes the difference. Not only in the improved directorial and narrative compromise, but also for the choices clearly made to say goodbye to its fans in a moving way (or at least to be sure that, one way or another, someone would leave the theater with teary eyes).
From the opening credits the film seems like a commemoration of its own past, with these panoramas of the Forks woods that are tinged with blood red as the transition from human to vampire occurs in the off-screen protagonist. At the end then, the self-celebration is wasted. In the book, Stephenie Meyer had already made sure that Bella and Edward had the opportunity to relive their best moments.
Bill Condon does not miss the opportunity to emphasize them, accompanying them with a score that mixes the main themes of the entire saga and a list of all the actors who contributed to making the saga a very successful project that lasted five films.
In this regard, it must be said that, of the 115 total minutes of the film, several are used to emphasize the opening and closing credits, so much so that, by making a few cuts (not too painful) in the first Breaking Dawn film, perhaps a single film could have been created that told the story of the fourth book.
In any case, it's over and in fact, it will be the ending that will tear the most avid fans of the book apart, who will see those pages on which they cried and smiled so much, leafing through by themselves before their eyes.
