She’s been embroiled in a cheating scandal but today some good news for Kristen Stewart: Vulture is reporting exclusively that Stewart has been confirmed to play Peyton in the film adaptation of Styron’s Lie Down In Darkness. She beat out Jennifer Lawrence for the job. Peyton is... certainly not Bella Swan. She’s a tragic, memorable figure in a beautiful, heartbreaking, unflinching story about a f-cked up family and the devastating effects that dysfunction and parental failure have on the generation they’ve unfairly doomed. Peyton’s terrible unravelling has always reminded me of Kit’s in The Sheltering Sky -- two women so disturbingly disappointed by life, giving up seems to be the only option.
Ironically then, Stewart’s recent personal troubles certainly seem to suggest even more credibility in being able to capture the self-destructive spirit of the character.
And what of Stewart’s self-destructive current reality? It’s a familiar story - feeling that you may have outgrown a relationship but without the maturity and courage to end it properly, she’s not the first to have made a stupid, STUPID decision to get herself out. The consequences? Well, she’s eating them now, isn’t she? And that might actually send her backwards. As she continues to be crucified, it would be tempting to go back and rebuild what was perfect before even if it’s not what she wanted anymore which would only prolong the inevitable. That’s the thing about being in your 20s. You know nothing. But you think you know everything.
