The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (PG-13) DVD

Released: 11 February 2012, Summit Entertainment
Starring: Kristin Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Directed by: Bill Condon

4 stars (out of 4)

Product Description:

In the highly anticipated fourth installment of The Twilight Saga, a marriage, honeymoon and the birth of a child bring unforeseen and shocking developments for Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) and those they love, including new complications with werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

Special Features:
6-PART MAKING-OF DOCUMENTARY; Edward & Bella’s personal WEDDING VIDEO; get a glimpse into JACOB’S DESTINY; watch your favorite scenes over and over in EDWARD FAST FORWARD and JACOB FAST FORWARD; plus an AUDIO COMMENTARY with Director Bill Condon

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When I walked out of the theater after the midnight showing of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on November 17, 2011, I stated right then and there, “I’m getting that DVD!”  I am a Twilighter and have enjoyed the movies; I have found it incredibly easy to look at the movies and books separately (probably since I read the books after seeing the first movie).  Prior to seeing Breaking Dawn – Part 1, Chris Weitz’s New Moon was my favorite with Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight following close behind (I didn’t connect well with David Slade’s Eclipse – it was good, but not my favorite).

All movie adaptations of books are a compromise; there are just certain things that work in a book that won’t work in a movie.  Scenes are going to be removed, added, changed around; characters are going to trade lines; etc.  The most important touch-points of a book have to be hit in the movie, though, to make the fans happy and Bill Condon hits them in Breaking Dawn – Part 1.  This movie is basically the first two sections of Stephenie Meyer’s book – Edward and Bella marry, honeymoon, Bella gets pregnant, she starts to deteriorate (the baby is incompatible with her body), Jacob breaks from his wolf pack to assist Edward with protecting Bella (the pack wants the baby dead), the baby is born, Jacob imprints in it, and Bella dies in torturous childbirth before being reborn as a vampire.  Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (out November 16, 2012) will pick up where this movie leaves off – Bella settling down as a wife, mother and vampire, until the Volturi threaten to destroy everything she holds dear.

This movie hits all the emotional touch-points as well – romance, horror, fear, loss and humor.  Yes, humor.  I was actually surprised by how many funny moments Condon was able to inject into this movie.  From awkward wedding reception toasts and a slightly disastrous honeymoon to Jacob’s reaction to Bella’s baby names and a bonus scene with the Volturi, humor is sprinkled throughout.

Front and center, though, is Bella – this is her movie, and Kristen Stewart is up to the task.  She perfectly portrays Bella’s apprehension walking down the wedding aisle, her doubts dropping away as she sees Edward waiting at the altar, her nervousness on their first night together, the joy of the morning after, and her awkward attempts at seduction after Edward’s guilt for bruising her on their wedding night makes him reluctant to make love to her again.  When Bella discovers she is pregnant, you can see the wonder dawn on Kristen’s face as she looks at herself in a mirror, and then the determination to keep the baby when Edward races her home in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy.  As her body deteriorates (some really fantastic special effect magic going on here), Bella holds on to her faith that everything will work out, even in the face of Edward’s anger and Jacob’s pleading with her to live.  The final birth sequence is horrific, and Kristen puts her all into it – the agony, the wonder of seeing the baby, and her death.

I’d like to give a shout-out to Robert Pattinson, as well, in this movie.  His character is finally given a chance to show a range of emotion; you see the love he has for Bella, his fear/shock at finding out she is pregnant, his anger and frustration at losing her, the wonder of hearing their baby for the first time, and his desperation to resuscitate Bella when her body finally gives out after the birth.  Edward Cullen has never been his best role (the scripts have never really given him much to work with in the past), but in Breaking Dawn – Part 1 we finally get an inkling of what he is capable of – thank you, Bill Condon!

Billy Burke always shines as Bella’s father, Charlie, and Taylor Lautner continues his impressive immersion in the character of Jacob.  Elizabeth Reaser as Esme finally gets a brief action sequence of her own, along with some lines to show she is a strong matriarch.  The newly introduced Denali clan is a mixed bag for me – Eleazar and Carmen look like “normal” vampires, but the golden eyes on Tanya, Kate, and Irina are a little too strong and give them a slightly creepy look.

The wolves seem to have evolved into a combination of the ones from New Moon and Eclipse – they still have the slightly leaner look of Eclipse, but the emotion we saw in New Moon is back in their eyes.  And one of the most important aspects of the Quiliute wolves is finally brought to the forefront – imprinting.  It was briefly mentioned in Eclipse but, with the assistance of Julia Jones’s Leah character, imprinting and its effect on the wolves is described and then beautifully brought to life in a montage involving Taylor Lautner’s Jacob and baby Renesmee.

I was thoroughly impressed by the inclusion of snippets of information that were important to the Twilight storyline but were glossed over or ignored in previous movies – imprinting, Edward’s break from Carlisle in the 1930′s, and Irina’s anger with the wolves because they killed someone she loved leap to mind.  In the interests of adding a little action to this movie, the wolf pack’s desire to kill Bella’s baby so it can’t endanger anyone is emphasized by having them as a constant presence surrounding the Cullen house waiting for the opportune moment to attack.

Last, but not least, what would a Twilight movie be without the music?  Composer Carter Burwell is brought back to the series after he created some of the most popular themes in the original Twilight movie.  While his score this time around is a bit drum heavy for my tastes, his integration of the original themes is stellar – particularly his use of “Bella’s Lullaby” during a montage of the first three movies that plays during Bella’s transformation from human to vampire.  This was one of my favorite scenes, as it brings together all the movies into one moment as Bella ends her life as a human and begins life as a vampire.  In another nod to the original movie, Iron & Wine’s “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” again makes an appearance as Edward and Bella state their wedding vows and the camera sweeps around them as they kiss – just as it swirled during their prom kiss to that very song.  Other soundtrack standouts are Sleeping At Last’s “Turning Page” (instrumental version for the walk down the aisle, full song for the wedding night), “Cold” by Aqualung and Lucy Schwartz (perfectly placed in the film as Bella wastes away from the pregnancy), “Sister Rosetta” by the Noisettes to accompany the wedding night jitters, “From Now On” by The Features during the honeymoon, and The Belle Brigade’s “I Didn’t Mean It” (wonderfully jaunty intro to the Volturi bonus scene during the final credits).  Music has always been a stand-out in these movies, and this one is no exception.

With the incredible job Bill Condon has done, bringing together all the elements necessary to do justice to Stephenie Meyer’s most complex and mature Twilight book, I find myself anxious to see what he can do with the final chapter in this saga.  I highly recommend listening to his AUDIO COMMENTARY for Breaking Dawn – Part 1.  His willingness to listen to the cast and crew who have worked on the previous movies and to incorporate their ideas into this one shines through, as does his incredible respect for everyone involved.  He gives credit where credit is due, and shows why he has turned out to be the perfect director to finish this series.  He just gets it – the book, the movie, the fans…everything.

November 16th can’t come soon enough for me.