When I first watched “Twilight,” I was nine years old and immediately became enchanted by the magic of the movie. I also resonated with the quirkiness of Bella Swan, our clumsy, awkward protagonist who doesn’t quite fit in when she moves to a new school in Forks, Washington — where it rains every day and mystical men appear at your rescue from the depths of the woods.
Since the genesis of my “Twilight” awakening, I have seen the film upwards of 10 times. I watched it most frequently as a kid, but for the past few years, it’s served as a welcomed respite from the stress of work and school, transporting me back to my childhood.
So when I saw the Coolidge Corner Theater was showing “Twilight” on Oct. 19, I knew I had to go.
Seeing “Twilight” on the big screen with a sold-out audience of 440 people proved quite different from cracking open my laptop in my bedroom. In a pre-movie introduction, the hosts of the screening asked who had seen the film before, and nearly everyone’s hand shot up.
This meant that some of the famous lines such as, “I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him,” were inaudible with hundreds of people yelling them. And because we had all seen the film before — some people felt comfortable talking through the entire screening.
At the Coolidge, the audience burst with laughter at every dramatically delivered line. This had a sobering effect on me, someone who had seen the movie so many times that I had lost any ability to experience it in a new way.
I began to notice the dizzying twisting camera during dramatic moments, and the aggressiveness of the blue tint cast over the film. The dialogue felt sillier than usual — when Edward gives Bella a piggyback ride he says, “Hold on tight, Spidermonkey,” the theater roared.
The audience awakened me to the absurdity of the movie, which I hadn’t thought of before. As I was watching, I realized that I had taken the entire premise of the film for granted. Why would a 104-year-old vampire choose to repeat high school every year and date a 17-year-old?
But as I left the screening after two hours and two minutes of melodrama, I realized that there should be space for this ridiculous kind of cinema.
After all, “Twilight” is a time capsule. There is something distinctly 2008 about it — the flannels, the skinny jeans, the emphasis on Bella not being like other girls who care about things like prom and shopping — and although a first-time viewer might roll their eyes at these indie flourishes, it’s just so “Twilight.”
“Twilight” is also just plain enjoyable. The familiar setting of a high school is used as a lead-in to a magical and thrilling tale that transports you to a fantastical world of adventure usually relegated to children’s movies.
It’s also not like other vampire movies — it’s a mature, indie vampire movie. Just look at the blue filter.
“Twilight” made me and so many others feel grown-up at a young age. And although it can be jarring to rewatch the movies we loved as kids, the live audience emphasized the love and nostalgia that a generation feels for the film.
It’s a movie that takes itself seriously but is fundamentally hilarious, and both can exist at the same time. “Twilight” is a canon early-2000s cinema — and it still holds up.
Wonderful article!