Twilight Spoiler Alert

First of all, let’s just acknowledge that Twilight blew everyone out of the water at the box office last weekend. Though I didn’t read the book, I found the relationship between Bella and Edward was exciting and fresh. If you’ve been living under a rock, the movie is about a young girl who falls in love with a vampire. The book puts to rest some of the classical vampire notches that make up the mythology. A few examples include the absence of fangs, the ability to endure the sunlight (but the sun reveals the sparkly, diamond-like skin of the vampires), super-strength, and more. It’s a fresh new take on the vampire story with a built in female audience similar to Titanic, Angel, and other heart-throb stories.

That said, let’s delve deeper into the actual story as seen on screen and talk about the antagonism. I went with three die-hard fans, whom felt the only thing that didn’t surpass their expectation was the “cheesy” special effects. Considering Cloverfield (a film about a monster that storms New York City in the middle of the night) was made on a budget several million less than Twilight’s $37 million, it’s surprising the special effects were so bad. Special effects and direction aside, I felt that the antagonism of the film came way too late to have significance in the story unfolding.

The story develops a wonderful love story between the two young lovers, and does a great job revealing the excitement and power of young love, however, the antagonism is a bit too contrived, which simply prevents the story from reaching its full potential. Don’t get me wrong, the book’s a best-seller, the author is the hottest new young adult author on shelves since JK Rowling (though there’s definitely no comparison — JK has written her way into history for centuries to come), and the movie will make it’s budget back and a handsome then-some. So what’s the problem? I’ve passed on several screenplays that were much more powerful than what the script for Twilight must have been. I’m a big advocate for not judging the script until you’ve read it — especially for produced movies, — but I can’t help but wonder how they got away with not introducing the antagonist until the third act.

With love stories, it’s most common that the lovers face a realistic antagonism, such as their family or previous lovers (Romeo & Juliet, Titanic), so the antagonism is planted even before the lovers meet and venture into love with each other. Twilight presents a new kind of antagonist: A bad vampire; one determined to kill Bella. As mentioned, this bad vampire enters the picture in the third act … as someone who didn’t read the book, I felt this forced the story to come to a climactic end. It felt contrived in other words. Again, the movie and book did well, so obviously they did something right! That said, the audience is pretty limited to young teenage girls, so it might not be the best way to structure and execute your tent-pole blockbuster or dramatic thriller.

The story was on such a natural, exciting roll, but it came to an explosive end as the two god-like vampires battle it out over Bella; an awesome fantasy for young teen girls, but a seemingly contrived climax none-the-less.

Overall, I liked the movie with the exception of the directing (distracting camera angles, fair casting of some of the supporting characters, special effects, and the ending — which can be credited to the book. I wasn’t the target audience, but as a story analyst it is my job to appreciate all genres and stories.

For the screenwriters in need of help with antagonism out there, consider Twilight a poor example. Antagonism is best when made clear early. the earlier you establish your protagonist’s enemy and opposing force, the earlier you’ll be able to inject conflict, confrontation, dilemma, and suspense into your story. While Twilight planted small scenes involving deaths of townspeople earlier in the movie, it was confusing to me, because the only vampires I’d met were Edward and his family, so I presumed that they were the ones murdering people — they are vampires. A good example of strong antagonism can be found in any Romeo & Juliet story, Thelma & Louise, Waitress, Spiderwick, Lord of the Rings, ET, Terminator, Star Wars, and the list goes on. The best antagonism I’ve read in an un-produced screenplay usually presents itself on or within the first ten pages. It might be a subtle appearance of the antagonist, or a fully-developed attack as seen in the first minute of Star Wars or Saving Private Ryan. The earlier the audience understands what their main character is up against, the better. It gives us time as an audience to side with the hero before they take the plunge into the special world in act two.

The bottom line is this: storytelling is an open field of opportunity, and there really aren’t any rules — (except for this one) — as Twilight has proved, however, if I were reading this screenplay professionally, I’d definitely be distracted by the sudden intro of Mr. Antagonism in the third act. Even 2001: A Space Odyssey introduced Hal earlier than Twilight introduced their antagonism! Keep your antagonism defined early, or if your story is similar to Twilight, consider a small dramatic ending instead of a large action-driven climax.

I enjoyed the story, but felt I was cheated out of the ending between the two lovers. Perhaps New Moon will do better with a bigger budget — though I hear from reputable sources that the books are highly formulaic. SXR

Update: If you think Twilight was the best story ever to pass our eyes, ears, and hearts – especially that dreamy Edward, – check out this homage to Twilight …