Just got back from watching Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, and all I can say is "wow". It's really over, five movies later. I guess the wait was shorter for me, since I only got started on the Twilight craze a couple of years back, in mid-2010, while I was studying in Sydney. I guess a little explaining is in order, since some of you might remember me scoffing and trashing the books and movies when they first came out. And especially since I'm supposed to have 'good taste' in books and all (at least that's what's implied and expected of English majors, but I say this with quite a bit of eye-rolling and sarcasm). But all that ridiculing and teasing and poking fun at certain golden-eyed sparkly-skinned individuals was before I actually sat down and watched the first movie. A few of us were at a coursemate's place, and she'd popped the DVD into the player so all us literature people could have a good laugh at the horror of it all. I just didn't expect to be immediately (more or less) caught up in the idyllic fantasy of it all. If you were to ask me to describe the first movie, I would tell you it was all blue and purple tones and googly eyes and dreamy (very dreamy) music. Just up my alley of emo-ness. Beautiful.
But I digress. Let me get back to today. I was blessed with two tickets to the premiere (thanks to Miss MN, if you're reading this, your gesture of kindness blew me away, speechless), and was so ecstatic, I actually couldn't sleep last night. I tried very hard to take a little nap in the afternoon, but ended up with my eyes open and my brain whirring away for 2 hours, that's how excited I was to watch this movie. That, and maybe the caffeine from my morning coffee.
I'm not gonna say much about the movie, but skip this paragraph if you prefer. Let me just say there was a moment when I was actually yelling at the cinema screen. Not full-volume yelling, but more "toot, what are they doing?" kinda pissed off. I wasn't the only one either. There was this hush that came upon the audience (I think they were as horrified as I was, but I was more vocal about my feelings, and there was a little kid in a hoodie sitting on my left and I wonder now if I might have frightened him/her), but minutes later (it felt like a tragically long time), there was a collective sigh of relief from almost everyone. I must have still been in some sort of shock, because my heart was racing and I was semi-shivering. Looking back, I should have expected something like that from the director/cast/scriptwriters/producers. Especially with the criticism hurled at the book, so it was quite smart of them, but really, I should have seen it coming. If you're like me, you'll feel really pissed off at the same part of the movie, but go with the flow, trust the movie people, and wait for the catharsis. Go watch. Have a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Just don't throw your drink/popcorn at the screen.
I almost got choked up towards the end, and it wasn't just about the books or the end of the movies. Fine, the way they wrapped it up and connected everything together was really good (and quite touching, especially with the background music and check out the credits, people!). But the Twilight series is, in many ways, a sentimental walk down memory lane. I remember being in Sydney in the cold transition of autumn to winter, and being caught up with reading the books and trying to catch up with the first two movies before Eclipse was released. I would, after lunch in the dining hall each day, pull on my jacket and wrap my scarf around my neck, then grab the day's papers, my mobile phone + earphones and the current Twilight book I was reading, and walk over to Maze Crescent just a stroll away from IH. Plop myself down on one of the wooden lounge chairs, put on the Twilight music, and start reading. I remember the chill of the air piercing through the thick layers and settling like little shards of mint and menthol and ice on my face and in my nose and going all the way into my lungs with every breath. Great times.
Which is also why watching Twilight or listening to certain tracks hurt. It's very much about the nostalgia, and the memories. Great, great times.
I suppose the end of the Twilight movies symbolizes the closing of that chapter of life, in one way or the other. But there's nothing stopping me from re-reading the books and re-watching the movies, even when I'm older and more of an 'adult'. Likewise, there's nothing stopping me from revisiting those memories of autumn in Sydney, and from walking down those familiar streets with a Twilight book in hand and the wind whistling through my bones.
The future. One day. Soon.
P.S. Don't you just love that moment when an epic movie ends and the credits roll and the people start clapping and cheering and you join in the fun?
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