What's it all about? The Twilight Saga continues. Bella, a human teenage girl, has agreed to marry her one true love, the vampire Edward Cullen. Her friend Jacob (who is also a werewolf) is troubled and concerned for her well-being. The plan is that after their honeymoon Edward will "turn" Bella and she will be a vampire with him forever, however she unexpectedly falls pregnant on their honeymoon, creating massive concern within the vampire and werewolf worlds over what sort of creature is growing inside her, whether she can survive the pregnancy and whether everyone (except her and her child) would be better off if the pregnancy were terminated.
*****
What's it like? If you are not familiar with the Twilight films, this film will make little or no sense at all and if you are not interested in them, this will not make a convert of you. For fans, it represents the progression of the saga towards its conclusion and is likely therefore to be considered indispensable. Undoubtedly the films are an acquired taste, being for some utterly banal and for others affecting and compelling. I don't profess to being a fan, though the films do contain some themes that make for interesting discussion and consideration. Bella remains a virgin until her wedding night, a commendable decision and it is altogether welcome to see that element retained, especially in a film for and about teenagers. The protective instincts of her boyfriend Edward and friend Jacob are also interesting to consider, especially in terms of Edward's concerns about his own self-control.
The story takes us from the Pacific North-West USA to a honeymoon in Rio and then back to the US and takes a pretty long time to move along, though on Bella's return, already heavily pregnant after only a few weeks' gestation, everything begins to pick up a bit more of a head of steam. The werewolves want the baby dead, the Cullens (Edward has parents and siblings, in a manner of speaking) have sworn to protect her and Bella is deteriorating horrifically as the baby growing within her begins to drain her. The scenes of her emaciated body are upsetting to say the least, drawing involuntary gasps from most audiences, a convincing combination of make up and CG-work having the desired effect.
Aside from pacing issues and an entirely misjudged scene involving talking werewolves rendered very unconvincingly, this is not a bad entry in the Twilight saga, with the melancholy tone of the earlier films giving way to some rather more adult body-horror in the third act that pushes the boundaries of the film's 12A certificate. If it's your sort of film, you have probably seen it already, if not, you probably won't anyway.
The story takes us from the Pacific North-West USA to a honeymoon in Rio and then back to the US and takes a pretty long time to move along, though on Bella's return, already heavily pregnant after only a few weeks' gestation, everything begins to pick up a bit more of a head of steam. The werewolves want the baby dead, the Cullens (Edward has parents and siblings, in a manner of speaking) have sworn to protect her and Bella is deteriorating horrifically as the baby growing within her begins to drain her. The scenes of her emaciated body are upsetting to say the least, drawing involuntary gasps from most audiences, a convincing combination of make up and CG-work having the desired effect.
Aside from pacing issues and an entirely misjudged scene involving talking werewolves rendered very unconvincingly, this is not a bad entry in the Twilight saga, with the melancholy tone of the earlier films giving way to some rather more adult body-horror in the third act that pushes the boundaries of the film's 12A certificate. If it's your sort of film, you have probably seen it already, if not, you probably won't anyway.
*****
Should I see it? There isn't really enough space here to do this debate justice, but there are serious questions to be answered as to whether a film about vampires and werewolves is especially suitable for us as Christians, especially where the target audience is around the early teen years. Added to that is the issue with this instalment in particular, namely that there is an awful lot of blood and body-horror in the final scenes which the younger and more sensitive among us will not cope well with. Vampires and werewolves are of course long-standing staples of the horror genre and Twilight itself has contributed to a new sub-genre within fiction writing of gothic romance revolving around the supernatural. The representations of both types of creature have tended towards the relatively tame in earlier instalments, but if you will pardon the pun, the delivery/Cesarean scene at the end of Breaking Dawn is pretty full-blooded. I suspect that although the 12A certificate means younger viewers can go along with a parent, anyone younger than their teens would struggle to stomach the later scenes of the film and I cannot recommend that you (if you are a parent considering whether to see the film with your children) take along anyone below secondary school age.
Aside from the horror elements, the film does offer food for thought and debate for Christians. Bella saving her virginity for her wedding night, the relatively subtle consideration of the issue of abortion in the face of the havoc being wreaked on Bella's body, family ties, including honouring your parents, or standing up to your peers when it comes to the question of "doing the right thing", if you can see it with your children (who may have seen it already, or be determined to see it one way or another) it might be good to do so in a way that gives time and space to discuss it afterwards. It is certainly a film that can and should prompt lengthy conversations.
Aside from the horror elements, the film does offer food for thought and debate for Christians. Bella saving her virginity for her wedding night, the relatively subtle consideration of the issue of abortion in the face of the havoc being wreaked on Bella's body, family ties, including honouring your parents, or standing up to your peers when it comes to the question of "doing the right thing", if you can see it with your children (who may have seen it already, or be determined to see it one way or another) it might be good to do so in a way that gives time and space to discuss it afterwards. It is certainly a film that can and should prompt lengthy conversations.
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