In the secondmovie adapted from Meyer’s books, TheTwilight Saga: New Moon, the plot sometimes seems illogical within its ownfantasy world and the seen-it-already post-Matrixcomputer images are nothing to draw blood over. But the vampires and werewolvesthat roam under the New Moon are onlylarger-than-life projections of roiling teenage emotions and hormones.Twilight’s success is not for being a good vampire tale but for itspsychologically insightful depiction of teens.
It’ssignificant that when our heroine, Bella (Kristen Stewart), awakens from adream at the start of New Moon, sheshares her pillow with a copy of Romeoand Juliet, not Dracula. It’s aromance story in the updated gothic setting of the Pacific Northwest, where the sun is curtained in gray overcast and thedark foliage of the old forest. Bella’s heart and body aches to be “changed” bythe handsome, dashing young (at 104) vampire of her dreams, Edward Cullen(Robert Pattinson). But he demurs, not wanting to take her on a step from whichshe can never turn back. Romance is the dream of love, compounded by eroticismthat can never find release. Becoming a vampire is, as marriage once was, abond for eternity. And in our essentially unromantic society, the message isclear: there is something to be learned, and gained, from delayedgratification.
Andthen all at once Edward makes his pronouncement: “You just don’t belong in myworld, Bella.” The unaging Cullens must move again, as they do every few yearsto avoid suspicion, and he doesn’t want to take her along. Devastated and indeep sulk, Bella gradually turns to a boy who has always been fond of her, theNative American Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Her heart is divided. Realizing thatEdward’s promise to always protect her means that his apparition will appear inmoments of danger, she embraces the emotional rush of disaster, hurling herselfin harm’s way to gain his attention. She knows Jacob is the more sensiblechoice, an affable lunkhead who would give her the world if he could. And thenJacob makes his pronouncement: “Bella, we can’t be friends.”
Guysare so weird! But then, Bella is drawn to weird guys. Turns out Jacob has beeninitiated into a warrior society of werewolves, whose ancient mission is toprotect humans from vampires. Romeo and Juliet had it easy. Twilight Saga ismore like Romeo, Juliet and Mario.
Whereto turn? Bella’s parents are divorcedmom is in faraway Florida and dad is a caring man over hishead in parenting a teenage girl. If Bella were a boy, he’d take her hunting.As it is, he’s flummoxed.
Stewartplays Bella with the distracted blankness one often sees in girls her age. AsEdward, Pattinson gives the movie’s most interesting performance. He resemblesa pallid James Dean or Montgomery Clift, a chiseled dreamboat struggling withemotions hard to articulate yet capable of handling himself when the going getsrough. Through an emotional maelstrom of suicidal impulses, self-sacrifice,ecstasy and despondency, New Moonplays in all keys of teenage uncertainty. The screenplay is laced with humor,most of it intended.
