"I know the consequences of the choice you’re making." That’s what Edward Cullen tells Bella Swan in my second favorite scene in the Twilight Saga: Eclipse trailer. (The Meadow Scene remains my #1 sequence.)
It’s not just that Robert Pattinson’s American accent is flawless. Is not just that Pattinson sounds more passionate when he whispers than just about any other actor when they declare their love by thumping their chests.
What makes that intimate moment between Pattinson and fellow player Kristen Stewart so effective is that the actor, in a few seconds, quietly whispering one brief, single line, is able to convey both his deep concern and his boundless affection for the person lying next to him. His is also the voice — or rather, the whisper — of experience. He knows that there’ll be an enormously high price to pay if Bella is to become one with him.
Pattinson is only in his early 20s, and many have derided his acting abilities. He was even up for a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie Award earlier this year. (A way for those Razzie guys to get some publicity, c’mon…) I’ve mentioned before that Stewart has matured as an actress and will probably surprise those who have found her "bland" before. I believe the same will happen when Pattinson is seen in Eclipse.
Trust me; this is not a matter of me being some out-of-control fan who secretly lusts after Pattinson. That’s not the case at all. It’s simply how I feel his performance; he doesn’t even look all that great in the scene because of all that white powder on his face.
Also, I must admit that I’d love to see Twilight naysayers (who hate it because they see it as "chick lit" and/or a "chick flick") bite their collective, prejudiced tongues if Eclipse and its players turn out to be — at the very least — moderately well-received by film critics. I’m rooting for that.
Directed by David Slade from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens on June 30. The final Eclipse trailer will be shown on Oprah next Friday.
Photo: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment)
You have to suspend belief to transcend it. Critics can knock all they want. The Twilight saga made billions, gave audiences some brand new faces, got Meyer out of the house at last and — more importantly, transported audiences away from the tragedy that is the Kardashians, and the appalling, numbing, opiate of mundanity itself.
Twilight et al brought to the fore genuinely, fresh, new talent and some beautifully nuanced performances from many in the cast. And yes, Robert Pattinson is one of them.
@Zoe – I so agree with you. The first movie is my favorite by far because of the feel and look of it and the flow of the story. To me, it’s art and the best of all by far. At this point, I still watch it 1-2 times a month. I also bought NM, but I’ve only watched it twice and may never watch it again. Of course, I’ll buy Eclipse, and I did enjoy the movie, but I doubt I’ll watch it more than once or twice because Edward is so obviously caked with that ridiculous white makeup. Who wouldn’t notice that? Edward was not caked with white makeup in the first film. Why in the world make him look like a caricature in the next films? Bella is naturally really pale herself. Edward is not much paler than she is–like in the first film. That’s how he should have stayed, with maybe a bit less bouffant to his hair. Robert Pattinson is already stunning–he doesn’t need pounds of makeup to pull off Edward. He proved that the first film. Please, please, please, I sure hope they don’t dip him in the powder vault for Breaking Dawn. That’s my favorite book of the series and I want to be able to watch the two movies over and over and over. TO BD PRODUCERS: 1) LOVE STORY IS PRIMARY (chemistry is obviously a given); 2) EDWARD IS STUNNING, PALE, & LUMINESCENT–NOT CAKED WITH WHITE POWDER. Thank you.
OH I agree the screenplay really butchered the book! I think Robert is perfect as Edward. my fav scenes of him in Eclipse are the tent scene (ooo self-sacrificial love) and the proposal scene (such passion yet such a gentleman!!) But they got to stop putting so much white powder on him! And shave his sideburns! this whole movie franchise got to go back to catherine hardwick’s bluish ethereal moody lighting and keep the tone of the first twilight movie movie. Eclipse has just become some silly action flick. The makeup and hair in Eclipse was just ridiculous (fire the team please and bring back their Twilight looks!) And how can Edward be beaten so easily like that, it’s ridiculous. New Moon was worse.
I have so enjoyed reading everyone’s comments. I agree with so many of your sentiments. Having read the series as well as Midnight Sun I fail to understand the way the critic’s have panned the portrayal of Edward and Bella by Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. I think they have embodied the spirit of their characters so well that I cannot imagine another actor or actress in the parts. I always feel sorry for films that are based on actual books as I feel the author has a huge advantage – they can take as many lines as they want to describe a moment, an emotion, a look or a scene where the filmmaker or the actor may only have a moment of screen time. And of course we the reader use our imagination to ascribe a certain look or expression to a moment or a character. Having said that there are so many beautiful scenes from the books that they either changed or left out altogether that I was a bit disappointed – scenes such as the meadow scene, the scene where Edward reveals that he has been visiting Bella almost nightly and listened to her sleep-talking, the waiting room of the Volturi and the flight back from Italy to the climax of Edward finally kissing Bella in her bedroom. I have one other problem with the films that I feel compelled to mention and that is the way they have Edward bested in a fight with Felix of the Volturi in New Moon and if the movie stills are correct he will be bested again in the fight with Victoria and Riley in Eclipse. Edward can read minds and is therefore almost unbeatable in one to one combat as he can see the moves his opponent will make as soon as they think it. To have him be so easily beaten is a true betrayal of his character as written by Stephenie Meyers and considering her huge input into the films I am shocked that she allowed him to be portrayed in this way. This won’t, of course, stop me from seeing Eclipse!!! Can’t wait for June!!
I think Robert Pattinson is a fine actor who is only just scratching the surface of his acting abilities. To compare him at 23 to Johnny Depp who I believe is about 46 is unfair – Johnny Depp wasn’t as good at 23 as he is now – go look at his start on 21 Jump Street!! With Robert the best is yet to come.
I agree whole heartedly with the notion of feeling Mr Pattinson’s acting. I had not read the books before I watched Twilight, and I honestly wasn’t impressed with the movie; with the huge exception of Rob – he blew me away. I’m now a fan of the books as it really is a beautiful love story. I liked New Moon (a lot more than Twilight), but I agree with was has been said about the script and screenwriting; I find it soulless and bland at best, and cringe-worthy at worst.
Rob was spectacular in Remember Me (a film that I loved), and I can’t wait to see him with better material like that, like hopefully in Bel Ami and Water For Elephants.
@alley
I absolutely agree with you on Twilight. I have read the whole series and what is thrilling is the forbidden aspect of the romance and the chemistry these two share that culminates into that kiss in the bedroom. I knew this kiss would win an MTV Best Kiss award once I saw it on screen. I hope Eclipe lives up to the hype and Melissa is more faithful to the book with her script. I do believe Robert is a “Diamond in the Rough”,I want to give credit to Jane from another blog, her words are so true. He has given good performances in How to Be, Little Ashes, and Remember Me. He has such great potential to be great like Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Matt Damon. I am looking forward to Bel Ami to see him perform again with Holly Grainger who he played opposite in The Mad Mother’s Handbook. It would be lovely to see him in another comedy, with that face that is lovely to look at, it also has such comedic expressions. The Twilight Saga will always be what Robert is remembered for and I am hoping Eclipse and Breaking Dawn has the fireworks that were so present in Twilight.
I had never read the books or even heard of them until I watched twilight. Robert and kristen chemistry is what made me buy the books and read them. I am totally in love with the series and I as well feel this saga could have been the best of all time if the screenwriter was not melissa!
she has done a terrible job with the script. so much more could have been taken from the books and delivered, which would have given them more than 1 or 2 to say in the movies! robert has depth when he is in character. I have seen him in several films. little ashes really shows how he can take on a character if in the right element and zone. I personally think twilight was magic only because of the sparks between rob and kristen. women can understand what is going on in that film because it is what we all want, unrealistic love! undeniable love! and that comes across in that movie and when you watch kristen follow rob actions in award shows and interviews and rob looking so intent and utterly confused about his emotions for kristen, you gotta love it! they appear to be real life soul mates, that is just my take on it, im sure alot of others will not agree. but I wish I could have that affection she gets from rob even if it is temporary, you know for the rest of your life that love is what you will cherish and share with others if you never say anything else good about that person. I myself prefer watching them in real life then on the big screen because they are so much like bella and edward in real life! I feel like aro from the volturi when he is reading edwards mind and makes the statment” it makes me thirsty” I am! and want to see more. kristen is a very serious actress right from the begining. she will do well in anything if she continues picking challenging roles for herself. I would love to see rob play a role like the joker character from batman or a johnny depp role as in alice in wonderland and of course a romantic film like dear john and kristen be the lead female in the story that will be rated r so that they can explore each other sexually this time around. kristen would do great in a tomb raider kind of flick or a kill bill type movie. I am excited to see we have new actors and actresses who are about the art and not so much about the entertainmnet side of it “PDA of affection in front of the media”.
The core of the entire series is LOVE CONQUERS ALL. The exquisite love story and romance between Bella and Edward is and has to be primary. The action is there to heighten the romance and emphasize the love. As long as the script is true to the story, it will be an amazing success. I personally think Kristen, Robert, Taylor, and the entire cast have done an excellent job portraying their characters correctly. It shows that they’ve all read the books, and it especially shows that Robert did his homework in reading Midnight Sun. I agree, and can definitely “feel” his performance as well as Kristen’s and Taylor’s. The chemistry between Bella and Edward is palpable, to the point that in some scenes it nearly makes me dizzy. I’ve truly never seen anything like it and commend these young stars for doing the story justice so beautifully in films that are destined to be classics for all time, probably even curriculum in future decades. Can’t wait to see Eclipse and truly can’t wait to see Breaking Dawn!
@RomanceFan, I agree. I really hope that Summit doesnt try to make this an action film for men/boys. I mean that is their own problem but when men tend to see twilight they run away so really, what is the pont. It looks like it will have the romance but i hope that it is not too short! and mostly action. I did not fall in love with the series because of the action, the newborn, the vampires, werewolves, etc it was because of the lovestory and frankly i dont care if others epecially the male audience want action movies or think something has to go BOOM before it will be great or before they watch it. i just hope they do the book justice..just this once!
I love Eclipse already :)
I agree with your assessment. I think that the actors have been given short shrift in this series, as they have been given little to work with. My objection is with the screenplays. It’s my opinion that much of the emotion and deep feeling between the characters has been stripped or moved around such that the impact is more “lowest common denominator” rather than the deeply meaningful way that Stephenie wrote the scenes (prime example…the “meadow” scene in Twilight). I don’t buy the “translation from book to film” excuse. Emotion can be carried through to a film…it just requires the right person to do the translation, and I really don’t think that Summit has found that person. I’m trying to be prepared for the emotional disappointment that Eclipse is likely to be as a result. I fear that Summit is trying to make these films too appealing to men (i.e., stripping out the emotions) and therefore making them lean more toward action films. When good actors are given poor material, they can only do so much with it. I applaud the series actors for their valiant efforts at making the most of the screenplays, and hope they get increased positive recognition for those efforts.
I couldn’t agree with you more as to that particular scene. I know I will get flack for this but I did think Robert lost his way in New Moon. No chemistry between him or Kristen until the bedroom scene after they reunited. In Twilight that man made my heart palpitate like it hasn’t palpitated in so long. He has such magnatism and charisma oozes out of his pores. I was so disappointed in New Moon, but the leaked photos and the trailer for Eclipse has me longing to see this movie so much. In Eclipse it looks like Robert has less of the make-up as in Twilight and New Moon, praise the stars for that because I was getting fed up with him having more lipstick on than Bella. I am hoping more men appreciate Eclipse because it has more action for them and romance for us women and it was directed by David Slade. I love his 30 Days of Night. I think he will be able to satisfy most of the filmgoing audience while bringing new people into the franchise. I know for me personally I can hardly contain myself for two months to see the proposal and Edward’s bedroom scene, palpitations starting again. Thank you for writing the article.
I agree with Joan about Robert Pattinson. He is a very good actor, has his own style of acting, his Edward is introspective, a sad young man, solitaire that has no friends. He has only the Cullens and now, Bella.
Rob has been doing a great job and most of people has been unfair in comparing him with other actors, more experienced than him. Robert did good films like Little Ashes and recently Remember Me, just to name a few but he is a newcomer, especially in the Hollywood scenario and some people love to forget this item.
Good directors who really like of directing actors and good projects will give Rob the maturity and experience that an actor with his talent deserves.
While Eclipse may be the most developed of the three Twilight Saga’s, it may not get the credit it deserves. Pattinson is a fine actor, and he is playing Edward, brilliantly. Those who criticise didn’t read the series, esp. Midnight Sun. Or they are jealous. Pattinson’s going to wow them all with Water For Elephants, and Bel Ami.