But I am going to assume she never expected it to be during a slow and painful movie adaptation in 2008
In 2005, Stephenie Meyer released her bestselling and wildly popular novel, Twilight.
A booming fanbase came forth and the semi-affectionate term “Twi-hard” was adopted to describe those who dedicated hours committing the contents of that book to heart.
As a proud twi-hard, I was right there with the rest as we awaited the release of the movie. In 2008, Summit Entertainment released the on-screen counterpart to my beloved Twilight.
My hopes, and the hopes of many others around the globe, plummeted. And although it has been 12 years, the supreme shock from my disappointment has never ebbed. What went wrong?
Wrong question. What went right? I can’t possibly mention everything, as that would require me to publish my own 498-page novel, but I will touch on a major change that severely impacted the way the story was received by audiences, both familiar and unfamiliar with the story.
The book paints a much more in-depth and accurate picture of who the characters are and how they interact. It has been widely discussed, among Twilight lovers and haters alike, that this is especially true for the main female protagonist and narrator, Bella Swan.
Bella is strong-willed and a self-stated silent sufferer. Unlike other people her age, she isn’t involved in petty high school drama and mind-numbing he-said-she-saids. She is consistently hyper-aware of the deeper possible intentions of the people around her and keeps much of what she knows a secret.
There is a re-occurring undertone through the book where she seems aware that she wasn’t meant to fit in with people her age, or even humans at all.
She is also selfless and hates the thought of anyone going out of their way for her for any reason. Even as she faced the killer in the book, who has lured her out of hiding by pretending to have her mother hostage, Bella could only feel relief that no one else was in trouble even though she knew it meant she would die.
The magic of Bella is that she is smart, confident and levelheaded, but can still be overcome with powerful reactions to feelings like love and anger. For example, she mentions how much she hates how her tear ducts are hard-wired to her temper, making her cry every time she is mad.
But in the movie, she is almost portrayed as quietly standoffish and unsure of herself. Her exasperations and intense reactions towards Edward while kissing (in the book, she tends to get carried away and throw herself into the act hungrily) and arguing are nowhere to be found, nor are her intuitive deductions about what he might be.
The movie made Bella into someone who needed Edward around just so she could function. However, Bella doesn’t need saving. She is an independent person who has and will go out on adventures unchaperoned whenever it pleases her.
I think the main issue was the choice of actress for the part. I like Kristin Stewart, the actress who played Bella. She has played parts in other movies I like, and I can honestly say I do enjoy her acting. I do not, however, think Kristin Stewart’s specific and unique acting style did Bella's personality justice, even if her look did.
This was an error in direction. The producers and directors should have familiarized themselves with the characters and chosen someone who acts similarly to how Bella lives.
It feels like they just decided to wing it.