[MOVIE SUMMARY] "Twilight" (2008)
bjk...@hotmail.com
the movie and/or would like a summary for personal use. Contains
spoilers.
2008
TWILIGHT
Cast:
Isabella "Bella" Swan .... Kristen Stewart
Charlie Swan ................. Billy Burke
Renee Dwyer ................. Sarah Clarke
Phil Dwyer .................. Matt Bushell
Billy Black ............... Gil Birmingham
Jacob Black ............... Taylor Lautner
Eric Yorkie .................. Justin Chon
Edward Cullen ........... Robert Pattinson
Dr Carlisle Cullen ....... Peter Facinelli
Esme Cullen ............. Elizabeth Reaser
Alice Cullen ............... Ashley Greene
Emmett Cullen ................ Kellan Lutz
Rosalie Hale .................. Nikki Reed
Jasper Hale ............. Jackson Rathbone
Jessica Stanley ............ Anna Kendrick
Angela Weber .......... Christian Serratos
Laurent ...................... Edi Gathegi
Victoria ................ Richelle Lefevre
James ....................... Cam Gigandet
Comments
Based on the "Twilight Saga", a series of four novels by
Stephenie Meyer, "Twilight" (the movie) covers the first book in
the series, also titled "Twilight" (2005). The other three books
are "New Moon" (2006), "Eclipse" (2007), and "Breaking Dawn"
(2008). The vampire family of the Cullens are, in Quileute Indian
lore, said to be Apotamkin ("the cold ones"), their word for
"vampire". In reality, the Apotamkin is a legend of the
southeastern Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tribe and is described as
being a bogey monster with long hair and big teeth, typically used
to keep small children from wandering off alone. There is no
Quileute legends about "cold ones". Meyer has admitted making up
the legends about the "cold ones."
Summary
Seventeen year old Bella Swan has decided to leave sunny
Phoenix to spend some time with her father Charlie Swan, the
chief of police in the perpetually cloudy and rainy city of
Forks, Washington on the far west coast of the Olympic Peninsula,
so that her mother Renee and minor league baseball-playing
stepfather Phil Dwyer can go on the road together for spring
training and perhaps even move to Jacksonville, Florida. Bella's
relationship with her father is cool, even though she hasn't seen
him in several years. When she arrives in Forks, he surprises her
with the gift of a red pickup truck that he purchased from his
best friend Billy Black. Bella remembers making mudpies with
Billy's son Jacob and looks forward to having at least one friend
at Forks High School, until Jacob reminds her that he is a
Quileute Indian and goes to school on the Reservation. Not to
worry. On her first day of school, Bella is befriended by Eric
Yorkie, the school's "eyes and ears", and he introduces her to
some of the other students. Everything is looking cool so far.
Cool, that is, until she meets Edward Cullen. Edward is one
of five foster kids adopted by Dr Carlisle Cullen and his wife
Esme. There's also Alice and Emmett Cullen and the twins, Rosalie
and Jasper Hale. From the moment Edward lays eyes on Bella, he
can't stop scowling at her. When Bella is assigned as Edward's
lab partner in Biology class and he storms out the door when the
bell rings, Bella is puzzled as to what she could have done to
anger him. When she overhears him in the office attempting to
transfer out of Biology, she decides to confront him and ask him
what is his problem. However, she doesn't get the chance because
Edward is absent for the next several days.
When Edward does return to school, he seems changed. He
introduces himself to Bella and asks her about herself, her
family, and whether or not she likes the cold, rainy climate in
Forks. Later that day, as Bella is about to get into her truck,
another car careens out of control in the school parking lot.
Within seconds, Edward has crossed the lot, pulled Bella out of
the way, and seemingly stopped the car with his bare hand,
leaving Bella more puzzled than before. When she tries to ask
Edward how he did it, he simply chalks it up to an "adrenalin
rush" and refuses to talk about it. Further, he says that they
probably shouldn't even be friends.
That doesn't stop Bella from asking Edward to be her date
when the kids decide to go surfing at La Push Beach on the Indian
Reservation, but Edward doesn't show. When the kids are joined on
the beach by Jacob Black and two of his friends from the
Reservation and they learn that Edward Cullen was supposed to be
Bella's date, one of Jacob's friends remarks, "The Cullens don't
come here." Later, Bella asks Jacob what was meant by that
remark, and Jacob tells her of a Quileute legend that says the
Quileutes were descended from wolves whereas the Cullens were
descended from an enemy clan. The legend also goes that the
Quileutes and the Cullens made a pact that required the Cullens
to stay off Quileute land in exchange for the Quileutes keeping
it secret what the Cullens really were. Bella googles Quileute
legends and notices that there is a bookstore in Port Angeles
that sells several books on Quileute legends, so she goes along
with her new friends, Jessica Stanley and Angela Weber, when they
decide to go shopping in Port Angeles for their prom dresses.
After purchasing her books, Bella heads to the restaurant
where she planned to meet Jessica and Angela for dinner before
heading back to Forks. Along the way, however, she is stopped by
four guys with no good on their minds. Suddenly, Edward drives
up, forces the guys to back off, and orders Bella to get into the
car. When Edward and Bella finally join Jessica and Angela, the
girls have already eaten. Edward offers to see that Bella gets
some dinner and then to drive her back to Forks, so Jessica and
Angela take off, giving Bella and Edward a chance to talk
privately. Edward reveals that he was following Bella because he
has developed very protective feelings towards her. He also lets
it slip that he could read what was in the minds of those
low-lives and that he can read just about anyone's mind...except
for hers.
On the drive back to Forks, Bella accidentally touches
Edward's hand and is amazed at how cold it is. As they pass the
Forks Police Department, they see several police cars, including
that of Bella's father, with their lights flashing. Dr Cullen's
car is also there, so Bella and Edward stop to see what's
happening. They learn from Carlisle that the body of Waylon
Forge, a good friend of her father, was just found lying in a
boat, dead from what looks like an animal attack, this being the
second animal attack to happen near Forks. Later, after Bella has
returned home with her father, she starts paging through the
books she purchased and comes across a Quileute legend about "The
Cold One". Googling it, she learns that "The Cold One", aka
Apotamkin, is a fanged creature, described as undead, immortal,
possessing incredible speed, strength, and cold skin. It is said
to drink human blood and variously equated with other legends
about vampires.
The next day, Bella confronts Edward with her findings. He
doesn't deny it. He takes her to the top of a mountain, out of
the cloud bank, and shows her how a vampire's skin sparkles in
the sunlight. He explains how the Cullen family has learned to
live on animal blood and consider themselves "vegetarian
vampires". Still, I am a killer, he says, and admits that he's
never wanted a human's blood as much as he wants hers. I don't
care, Bella replies. Edward goes on to explain that Carlisle
turned him in 1918 when he was dying of Spanish influenza and
that Waylon was killed by some other vampires...not the Cullens.
The relationship between Bella and Edward progresses to the point
where Edward decides to take Bella home to meet his family. All
of the Cullens are super-welcoming to Bella...all except for
Rosalie, who is concerned that the relationship between Edward
and Bella may end badly (i.e., Edward will end up harming Bella),
implicating the entire family and forcing them to move again.
However, Edward is super careful not to lose control when he's
around Bella, and the relationship continues to grow.
One rainy afternoon, Edward takes Bella out to play baseball
with his family. In the middle of the game, three figures come
walking out of the mist. Fearfully, the Cullens regroup, hiding
Bella behind him. The intruders are the rogue vampires who have
been feasting on humans, including Waylon Forge. They introduce
themselves as Laurent, Victoria, and James and ask whether they
can join the Cullens for a game. Carlisle warily agrees, and
everyone moves back into the field to take their places.
Suddenly, James sniffs the air and realizes that there is a human
in their midst. "You brought a snack," he sneers and heads toward
Bella. Edward jumps between them. Laurent backs off and agrees to
leave, taking James and Victoria with him. "Get Bella out of
here," Carlisle warns Edward. As they quickly drive away, Edward
explains to Bella that James is a tracker. Now that he's got her
scent, he won't give up until he has her. Bella's only salvation
is if they can get to James first, rip him apart, and burn the
pieces.
Edward's plan is to catch a ferry to Vancouver, but Bella
insists on going home first, against Edward's better judgement.
They plan a ruse to get Bella quickly in and out of the house
without her father knowing what's happening. When Bella gets
home, she runs into the house and slams the front door, shouting,
"It's over!" at Edward. She then informs her dad that she's got
to get away from here...now! She packs a nightbag and, against
her father's protests, gets in the truck (where Edward is
waiting), and they drive away. Unfortunately, James has already
tracked Bella to Charlie's house and is on to their trail. First
they stop at the Cullens' house, where they are surprised that
Laurent has shown up to warn them about James and Victoria. The
plan now is for Alice and Jasper to drive Bella south, while the
others, including Rosalie and Esme dressed in Bella's clothes,
attempt to create a false trail through the woods. It doesn't
take long, however, for James to realize that he's been duped.
When James changes his course, Alice senses the change and
has a vision of James heading to a ballet studio in Phoenix where
Bella once took lessons. While Jasper and Alice check them into a
hotel in Phoenix, Bella gets a call on her cellphone from her
mother, frantically worried about her. Suddenly, James comes on
the line and informs Bella that he got her Phoenix address from
Forks High School and arrived there just as her worried mom also
got there. If Bella wants to save Renee's life, she must ditch
Jasper and Alice and meet James in her old ballet studio. Bella
takes a taxi to the studio but, when she gets there, she finds
that it was a trick. James got an old movie from her house, and
it was only Renee's voice Bella was hearing. James then taunts
her further by threatening to film their "time together" in order
to break Edward's heart.
As the camera rolls, James bats Bella around the room, then
breaks her leg. Suddenly, Edward shows up, having gotten there
faster than the others because of his greater speed. With their
vampire strength, James and Edward toss each other around the
room, breaking mirrors and windows with the impact of their
bodies. At one point, James manages to swoop down in Bella and
bite her arm. Just then, Carlisle, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper show
up. Alice races to Bella's side, while Carlisle pulls Edward off
James, telling him that Bella needs him more. Overpowered by the
smell of Bella's blood, Alice asks Carlisle to take over for her.
While Carlisle bends over Bella, Alice breaks James' neck, and
she, Jasper, and Emmett start a fire to burn his body. Carlisle
says that Bella's femoral artery is severed and she's losing a
lot of blood...but even more important is the fact that she's
been bitten, and the vampire venom has begun to affect you.
Edward has a decision to make...either let the change happen or
suck out the venom. Edward refuses to allow the change, so he
decides to suck out the venom even though it means that he might
not be able to stop.
When Bella awakens, she is in the hospital, her mother at
her side and Edward asleep in a chair. Bella claims not to
remember anything that happened, so Renee tells her how Edward
and his dad came down from Forks to persuade her to return, and
when Bella went to see them at their hotel, she tripped, fell
down two flights of stairs, broke her leg, went through a window,
and lost a lot of blood. When Renee leaves to get Charlie, who's
waiting in the hospital cafeteria, Edward "wakes up". He tells
Bella that they took care of James and that Victoria ran off.
Then he lowers the boom. He wants Bella to move to Jacksonville
with her mother so that she can't be hurt anymore by her
association with him. Bella refuses.
Bella moves back to Forks with her dad. With her leg still
in a cast, Bella attends the prom with Edward. When Edward goes
off to park the car, Jacob sits down next to Bella. He tells her
that his father wants her to break up with Edward and that he
sent a warning:."We'll be watching you." Bella laughs. Later, as
Bella and Edward dance in the gazebo, she asks him why he didn't
let her turn. "If you just let the venom spread," she says, "I
could be like you by now." She informs him that she's made the
decision to be with him forever and offers him her neck. Edward
bends over to bite her neck but ends up simply kissing it. "Is it
not enough just to have a long and happy life with me?" he asks.
"For now," Bella replies.
From a window overlooking the gazebo, Victoria watches Bella
and Edward kiss. She turns away, lets down her hair, and smiles
to herself.