Stardust (2007) – on Blu-ray. There were two overtly ‘lomantik’ films we caught on the big screen in our pre-Hannah 2007 days. One was Enchanted, and the other Stardust. I remembered having no preconceptions of what the latter was about prior to my watching it at the theatre as the film itself didn’t seem to be prominently featured through preview trailers, but a 2 hours viewing later, Stardust has at least become one of Ling’s most favorite films, like ever. =)
Stardust is an unabashed fantasy adventure, coming of age and love-story all rolled into one. The film is based on famed comic book writer Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name, and tells the story of the magical Kingdom of Stormhold, which shares a border with with a quiet and quaint English village in our real world. Tristan (Charlie Cox), a mild mannered young man, from our world one night upon seeing a star that falls across the border into Stormhold, vows to retrieve it for Victoria (Sienna Miller), the love of his life.
Tristan is unaware though that the falling star has taken human form, Yvaine (Claire Danes), and is in turn sought by a trio of evil witches led by witch-queen Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) who intends to steal Yvaine’s heart to attain immortality, and also by Septimus (Mark Strong), a prince of Stormhold, who needs a gem that fell with Yvaine to become king. Robert De Niro also stars as the tough-talking pirate Captain Shakespeare (no relation to the bard) who in reality is a cross-dressing softie at heart.
At its core, Stardust is a fairy tale for adults, and film falls squarely into a neglected film genre that has long seen only a few occupants; specifically The Princess Bride from the ‘80s for those of us old enough to remember, and somewhat more recently, Ever After from the ‘90s. The new film has somehow achieve a great balance between a straight forward yet clever story that doesn’t insult your intelligence, larger than life characters, humor (lots of it!) and stunning cinematography, courtesy of the lush and dramatic landscapes of the United Kingdom.
The actor performances are almost uniformly excellent. Mark Strong is fast becoming Hollywood’s definitive villain-actor. Coincidentally, I watched three films on Blu-ray this week’s evenings all with him playing a villainous character – Sherlock Holmes, Kick-Ass (will blog about this soon too!), and Stardust. De Niro, widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, continues his turn to comedic roles – most of which have been forgettable, but with well-written characters like Shakespeare here, proves that he has equal chops for both dramatic and comedic roles. Him and his band of lovable and rowdy pirates steal every scene they are in.
And Michelle Pfeiffer – the national service pin-up girl of the 80s – returns to a familiar witch role that she’d done before in The Witches of Eastwick, though she plays a wicked character this time, and in an appropriate over-the-top fashion. And Charlie Cox’s Tristan is instantly likable in his earnestness, and it’s satisfying to see his transition from an ordinary nobody to hero of Stormhold.
The one performance that I thought really crashed though was Claire Danes’ Yvaine. Danes is a natural beauty, and she’s been in a lot of roles with several great performances. But her turn as Yvaine is not going to go down as one of her best. Her pretend-British accent is inconsistent. She whines (though in part because that’s the way her character’s written) and overacts, and her wig is distracting.
I have to say a word about the visual effects too, and specifically the computer-generated effects when spells and magic are cast. It’s marvelously done, with a kind of kinetic energy demonstrating sure awesomeness of the power that’s thrown around by those evil witches.
And the film’s music soundtrack by Ilan Eshkeri… just stunning! Catchy, bold, romantic and majestic at the right moments. Very hum-worthy.
Ling liked Stardust so much that the evening after we watched it on blu-ray, she wanted to see it again. She even wants to read the book too. And that night, just before turning in, she was still cooing about the show and musing at how wonderfully romantic it was.
For me though; definitely a recommendation though not quite perfect. When Danes comes on in each scene, just look at Cox instead.:)
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