‘Stardust’ shines bright with jam-packed cast
Look up at the night sky on a dark and clear night, and there’s
a little bit of magic there in the twinkle of the stars. And in the
latest film from screenwriters Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (he
produced mobbed-up movies such as
”
Layer Cake
”
and
”
Snatch,
”
) would have us believe there’s even more magic out there.
‘Stardust’ shines bright with jam-packed cast
Look up at the night sky on a dark and clear night, and there’s a little bit of magic there in the twinkle of the stars. And in the latest film from screenwriters Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (he produced mobbed-up movies such as “Layer Cake” and “Snatch,”) would have us believe there’s even more magic out there.
As with many fantasy-type films – think “Princess Bride” and any of the “Lord of the Rings” movies – “Stardust” starts with a narrator who gives us a hint of the direction the film will take. It makes the movie feel more like the fairytales many children are read at a young age than an adventure film. The narrator is Ian McKellen, whose knighthood and distinguished voice always make him a good choice for films in this genre. He sets the time and the place for viewers.
A century and a half ago in the rural English countryside, a young man breaches a wall around a town called Wall. When Dunstan Thorn (Ben Barnes) crosses the barrier he doesn’t know it takes him across a dimension to a magical world called Stormhold. He meets a beautiful slave girl who sells him a white plastic flower for the cost of a kiss. Dunstan returns home to Wall and less than a year later – say nine months – the guardian of the wall delivers a package to him. Enter Tristan Thorn. The movie quickly skips over Tristan’s growth from a baby to a boy in his late teens. The narrator tells viewers this is, of course, the story of how Tristan becomes a man.
Tristan is a dark-haired, pale boy who works in a shop. He is in love with the beautiful Victoria (Sienna Miller), but he barely registers in her sight line, unless of course, she needs him to carry home her purchases. When she tells him she is going to marry someone else, Tristan promises to cross the wall to find a fallen star for her. He has one week to return with it or she will marry another.
The star is much more than molten rock that has fallen to earth, though Tristan hardly knows this. The star (Claire Danes) is a beautiful, but sarcastic woman, who is cast out of the sky when a dying king rockets a gemstone into space. The king has a brood of sons who are all vying for his throne. He tells them the one who can turn the ruby back to its original red color is the true king.
While the star is just meant to be a memento for Tristan to win his true love, in the world of Stormhold it is something else entirely. Stars are very much alive and spend their time watching humans and the inhabitants of Stormhold. The heart of a star grants everlasting life.
From here, the movie becomes predictable. It’s easy to guess who the true heir of the throne is, who Tristan will fall in love with and how he will discover his true parentage. But the journey to the end is well worth the time. The movie has a run time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, but it never felt as though it lagged.
One thing that kept it moving was a delightful cast of friends and foes to assist or detract Tristan and Yvaine (the star, played by Claire Danes) as they make their way back to the town of Wall. They are hunted by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), a powerful witch. She and her sisters caught the last star when it fell 400 years ago and they are nearly out of life-saving glow. Two of the princes are also searching for the gemstone necklace that Yvaine has placed around her neck. In the middle of it all, the two are captured by a skybound pirate ship helmed by Captain Shakespeare (Robert DeNiro).
One fear some people had about the movie was that the presence of so many powerhouse names in the film – DeNiro, Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, and Ricky Gervais – among others, would detract from the main story line. The roles work seamlessly in the film and do not feel like cameos.
While traditional romance stories often show a couple falling in love through a montage – scenes of them eating ice cream together, rollerblading, having dinner, kissing, etc. – the love story in “Stardust” doesn’t seem to rush. In the movie, the characters literally glow with love. That’s what stars do, after all.
Melissa Flores can be reached at
mf*****@pi**********.com
.
