Film: New Moon

When the world went Twilight crazy last year I had no interest in the film whatsoever.  The concept of a vampire film which carried a 12A rating didn’t really do it for me, and neither did the look of the cast. Granted I was only going by the promotional pictures that seemed to be everywhere, but he looked too corny (yes, we know vampires are pale) and she looked too young (Hermione in Harry Potter and the Philiosopher’s Stone kinda young). I just didn’t get it and couldn’t be bothered to find out why everyone else did.

Oh what a difference a year makes.

It may have taken me a hell of a lot longer than everyone else, but I have now well and truly boarded the Twilight train, and am writing a review of its second instalment, New Moon, to prove it.  “He” is now Edward Cullen (played by Robert Patterson) and “she” turns out to be Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart). I am unashamedly hooked on this little gem of a story and have vowed in the future to stop being such an inverted snob. Popular films are popular for a reason, usually because they are bloody good. High School Musical anyone? Ok, let’s start this review before I get a bit too carried away….

For those of you who are yet to see Twilight (fools!), here it is in a nutshell. Bella Swan moves to drizzly Forks, a little town in Washington to live with her dad. She meets and falls quickly in love with Edward Cullen, her pale and brooding classmate who just so happens to be a 104 year old vampire. They get together, she finds out his secret, doesn’t care, they face a lot of danger, get through it, the end.

New Moon begins with Bella`s birthday, a day she refuses to celebrate because it brings her one step closer to old age and death. And death means never seeing Edward again, which all us girls can appreciate would be quite a depressing thought (as you can see, I have got past his paleness). During a surprise party at the Cullen`s residence Bella manages to cut herself, prompting one of the Cullen brothers to lunge at her in a blood-fuelled frenzy. Edward decides to leave Forks, believing that his presence is only putting Bella in danger.

Stewart’s portrayal of abandoned Bella is controlled and focused.  Her longing for Edward is projected so convincingly that you can actually feel her pain, and it’s easy to see why this film is such a hit amongst teenagers for whom romantic angst is a common emotion.  But the smile is soon put back on Bella’s face when she gets closer to old friend Jacob, who just so happens to be a werewolf (I’m guessing that in the third instalment of this saga Shrek might put in an appearance, closely followed by Eddie Murphy). But Bella hasn’t forgotten her vampire and when Edward mistakenly believes that she is dead and tries to commit vampire suicide (which is a long old process involving a trip to Italy and a few choice words with a certain Michael Sheen) she charges to his rescue.

The film isn’t without its faults (when the vampires get angry they kind of just stare at each other, with Edward putting a hand up as though he is going to karate chop someone.  Grow some fangs!) but if you sit back and just go with it you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

Lauren Forbes

Read our review of the New Moon soundtrack here

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.