Cure for teen pregnancy

The Twilight Saga – Breaking Dawn Part 1

Director Bill Condon Screenwriters Melissa Rosenberg, Stephanie Meyers (novel) Cast Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner

Thousands of hormonal Twihards queued for days for the much-anticipated arrival of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1; the fourth film in the hugely successful vampire love story franchise was released last week, setting the scene for the big finale next year. An emotionally fraught, dramatic tale, this latest film shows that the structure of the Twilight franchise – that of surging adolescent emotions quashing rational thought, and the resulting arguments and tantrums – is still foolproof.

The first three films weren’t epic, but despite the somewhat crammed-in storyline, the filmmakers did a pretty good job with them. However, the story for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is getting slightly ridiculous – Bella gets pregnant with a vampire-human hybrid that rips its way out dramatically – and even director Bill Condon and his ace team can’t make it perfect.

Having said that, while the filmmakers have taken a lot of flack about their choice to take what has been dubbed the ‘Harry Potter gameplan’ and splitting the final novel into two films, when it comes to profits the decision was a definite win for the backers. The three-day opening here in the UK bagged a rather impressive £13.91m, and is expected to go straight to the top of the UK Box Office chart, having shot to the top of the USA’s with a whopping first weekend take of $138m.

The story follows on from the previous Twilight Saga films; after a beautiful wedding, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) set off on a romantic honeymoon to Brazil. However, the trip is cut short when Bella discovers she is pregnant with a half-vampire half-human baby, which is fast mutating and crushing her weak human body. To add to the problem, when they get home there are a few pretty angry werewolves who are really not keen on the arrival of this mutant child waiting on their doorstep. Can Bella’s werewolf friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) help sort things out? And how will Bella and Edward cope with their new species of child?

The acting is as it always has been – fine, but hampered by a rather miserable script. A reasonable supporting cast is held up by Pattinson still credibly portraying hurt soul Edward, but while the intensity between him and Stewart is genuinely convincing, for a teen flick there are very moody faces all round. Even in the rare moments of attempted humour, the actors can’t seem to get it across. Lautner does a good job with angry, angsty Jacob, but even he has his moments of childish tantrums and storming off. Nevertheless, the whole cast do a good job, and it is clear that a lot of effort has gone into pushing the mood of the film towards ‘dark and disturbing’ in the set-up for the final part.

If you watch Breaking Dawn Part 1 as a prequel to the total hell that is about to break loose in part two (you know what I mean if you’ve read the book, Twihards) then it’s ok. But if it is viewed as a stand-alone film, the unnecessarily slow pace and extended length of the film can make it a bit dull. There’s enough to keep it all moving along, especially in the second half, and there is a lot of tension created by heartbroken Jacob’s doubts, torn desperately as he is between love and vengeance. But there is a serious lack of fight scenes and action, other than the threatening pack of werewolves who really only remain on the periphery. The only minor action shows the wolves leaping a bit as the vampires move really fast, which gets a bit tedious after a while.

Possibly the best thing about this film is the effect it’s having on men across the world. As mentioned, the film portrays Bella’s difficult pregnancy as she carries the child of her vampire husband, culminating in a graphic scene of the baby’s birth. Viewer Brandon Gephart, from Roseville, California, was reportedly taken to hospital after suffering what seemed to be a panic attack during the birthing climax. “He was convulsing, snorting, trying to breathe,” said his girlfriend Kelly Bauman. That particular screening had to end early when the paramedics arrived. Other cases of men freaking out have been recorded, such as an unnamed man from Utah (as reported by ABC4) who also had some sort of seizure during the same scene. “I didn’t really remember what happened,” the man told the news crew. “I think I blacked out. According to [my wife] I was shaking and mumbling different noises.”

The ending naturally gears us up for the final part of the Twilight Saga, and – alongside a sneaky mid-credits teaser – sets the stage for a very different Bella and the battle for her new family’s safety in 2012’s concluding installment. All in all, despite the Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 28%, this is a reasonably enjoyable, easy film to watch – one to drag your boyfriend to… unless he’s squeamish about pregnancy.