Stardust
Though it sometimes borders on the bombastic both visually and musically (no doubt taking its’ cue from recent smash fantasies like “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter”), at the heart of this lovely adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess’ novel is a wonderful love story about finding your true love right in front of your eyes- always the last place some look- as endearing as the love at the center of Rob Reiner’s “The Princess Bride.” Matthew Vaughn’s film may achieve some of that film’s classic status with time- its’ slight, but encouraging, box-office stability a sign of good things to come maybe?- but for now, it’ll have to live in the shadows of the epic serials that paved the way for Hollywood’s green-light. His credentials wouldn’t strike him as the first choice for such a film (he was a producer on Guy Ritchie’s crime films and directed a sharp one of his own- 2005’s “Layer Cake”- before being courted for last year’s “X-Men” three-quel, which he turned down to make this instead), but Vaughn displays a sure confidence behind the camera that brings together all of this film’s elements- the love story, the fanciful humor, the sometimes wicked fantasy- in mostly satisfying ways. Like I said, there are moments of “Potter”/”Rings” wanna-be bombast that don’t work in the film’s favor.
The film starts simply, as so many of its’ kind have, with the story of a boy. In the small British town of Wall, a young man crosses over into the land of Stormhold (a fantasy realm, albeit as real as the one we live in, just across the nearby wall, guarded by a lone man so as to keep people from crossing over) one night, and spends the evening with a slavegirl to a witch. Nine months later, a baby is brought to him to look after.
Eighteen years pass, and the young Tristan (relative newcomer Charlie Cox), is hopelessly in love with the more well-off Victoria (Sienna Miller), who has a suitor of the upper-crust prepared to propose to her on her upcoming birthday when a shooting star falls to Earth. Tristan says he would go across the Wall to gather that star for her to prove his love, setting him forth on a quest larger than he realizes, as a King (the wily Peter O’Toole) lies dying as his remaining sons look to see who survives to inherit the crown (as the deceased ones watch on from beyond, unable to rest until an heir is chosen; it’s a quintessentially British bit of wit that sometimes works, sometimes not); a witch (the sassy and delightfully evil Michelle Pfeiffer, enjoying cutting loose from playing good) and her two sisters look to retrieve the star in order to restore their beauty and live forever; and the star itself takes the human form of Yvaine (Claire Danes), complicating Tristan’s quest in ways he doesn’t quite fathom when his quest starts.
Vaughn and co-screenwriter Jane Goldman keep the storytelling lean and simple, leaving it to the audience to keep track of how all the characters fit into it in the grand scheme of things (a lot easier to do when you stay awake- as I did my second time watching it- than when you fall asleep- as I did my first time watching it). And the film’s visual effects- confident and effective work in bringing to life Gaiman and Vess’ vision- are in service of the story, and don’t overshadow it, more often than not. But the focus is always on the characters; in particular, the budding romance between Tristan and Yvaine, with a collection of fine supporting characters (including a wonderfully surprising performance by Robert DeNiro as the feared Pirate Shakespeare, further solidifying to moviegoers that a pirate’s stock and trade is in his reputation) around them to bring the world to life. As Tristan, Cox has the starry-eyed gaze of a young man taking his first steps out into the real world (and adulthood), on the one hand overwhelmed by the world around him, but at the same time finding his way to earn the confidence he needs in facing it; I don’t know that I’d call it a star-making performance, but it’s certainly a step in that direction- we definitely haven’t seen the last of him. As the fallen star Yvaine, Danes’ British accent may waver, but her loveliness and charm doesn’t; she continues to stake a claim to being one of the best actresses of her generation. At 29, she may seem a tad old to play the lead in a fairy tale romance, but her experience serves her well, as she and Cox strike an easy bond, even when their characters are at each other’s throats. That’s the type of magic that makes a film like “Stardust” work in the end; you see its’ results onscreen, but you don’t know the tricks that made it possible. Just a matter of the stars aligning just right, I guess.
