Makes no difference who you are...
URGA MOTW
Stardust
I must say, this has been one of the films this year that I have highly anticipated, being a reasonably big Neil Gaiman fan. I only purchased a whole handful of his books (including Stardust) earlier this year, so I had high hopes that the fantasy for adults (as opposed to fantasy for children) would turn into a good film that would be well received.
Luckily, I was not disappointed. Stardust is by no means a blockbuster Hollywood production - but has a charm and air that makes it beautiful for all intelligent film viewers who like an good-natured romantic tale.
How do you classify this film? It's quite genre-spanning, but in order of prominence, I would call it a romantic fantasy action comedy. There have been plenty of comparisons to "The Princess Bride", and that's well founded, because that film also blended all the aforementioned elements, but I think "Princess Bride" was more of a comedic action fantasy romance. Order is important :)
Stardust doesn't put a huge emphasis on its comedy, it is mostly quite subtle and has more to do with people's facial expressions and short quips than it does with one liners or quotable twists of dialogue. However, Stardust does excel in the fantasy and romance aspects - there is such a depth to all the characters that makes them very believable. Motivations, emotions and attitudes are clear but not always stated in dialogue, you can pick up what's going on just by watching...
So, quick summary of the rather complicated plot: In the mid 1800's, in the English village of Wall, 18 year old Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) is attempting to woo the local beauty Victoria (Sienna Miller), and as they enjoy a nighttime picnic, Tristan promises to go and fetch a falling star for Victoria. The star has fallen on the other side of the wall that is next to the village (hence its name), which the locals are not allowed to cross... because it leads into the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold.
The King of Stormhold (Peter O'Toole) is on his death bed, and his succession is still in question, as four... sorry, three of his fraticidal seven sons are still alive. To make their quest for ascension a little more challenging, they must go and get the Stormhold royal ruby necklace, which conveniently shoots off into the heavens before the princes can grab it. This is what causes the star to fall!
Also watching the falling star is a trio of Witches, led by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) who know that if they can eat the heart of the star it will return their youth and beauty.
Tristan arrives at an enormous crater only to find an injured girl there - and it turns out she is the fallen star, Yvaine (Claire Danes). Tristan and Yvaine then start to make their journey back to Wall all the while pursued by Lamia and the remaining Stormhold Princes, Primus and Septimus.
Claire Danes makes for a suitably pissed off fallen star, she isn't at all happy how her life is going until she gets to know Tristan's kind nature better. Septimus turns out to be much more of a bastard that I recall from the book, but that's good too. The action sequences are pretty exciting, and most of the special effects are top notch. Robert DeNiro puts in a brilliant cameo as the flying-ship captain Shakespeare who teaches Tristan a little more about how to be a hero, and what's really important in life. The climax - although different to the book - is incredibly well done, and as all the pieces fall together, it makes for a wonderful finale.
The most distinctive performance overall comes from Michelle Pfeiffer - who with just a quick one-second facial twitch can indicate the narcissitic glow of youth and beauty and her increasing frustration in regaining her age as she uses magic. She can be quite frightening and terrifying when required as well (the makeup helps!).
The disjointedness of the three plot threads at the start may throw a few people off, but they soon come together at the Inn. I had thought the scene at the inn came much later in the story, but it turns out it's a fairly early action piece in the film, and from this scene onwards everything flows beautifully - the pacing is spot on.
This film isn't a sprawling fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings, nor is it a stupid RomCom of the Meg Ryan ilk. It sits alongside The Princess Bride as a great combination of romance, comedy, action and fantasy (although with a slightly different emphasis) and I do hope it will become one of those classic 'cult' films that people of all ages will continue to rewatch and love.
10/10
Best film of the year so far
Stardust
I must say, this has been one of the films this year that I have highly anticipated, being a reasonably big Neil Gaiman fan. I only purchased a whole handful of his books (including Stardust) earlier this year, so I had high hopes that the fantasy for adults (as opposed to fantasy for children) would turn into a good film that would be well received.
Luckily, I was not disappointed. Stardust is by no means a blockbuster Hollywood production - but has a charm and air that makes it beautiful for all intelligent film viewers who like an good-natured romantic tale.
How do you classify this film? It's quite genre-spanning, but in order of prominence, I would call it a romantic fantasy action comedy. There have been plenty of comparisons to "The Princess Bride", and that's well founded, because that film also blended all the aforementioned elements, but I think "Princess Bride" was more of a comedic action fantasy romance. Order is important :)
Stardust doesn't put a huge emphasis on its comedy, it is mostly quite subtle and has more to do with people's facial expressions and short quips than it does with one liners or quotable twists of dialogue. However, Stardust does excel in the fantasy and romance aspects - there is such a depth to all the characters that makes them very believable. Motivations, emotions and attitudes are clear but not always stated in dialogue, you can pick up what's going on just by watching...
So, quick summary of the rather complicated plot: In the mid 1800's, in the English village of Wall, 18 year old Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) is attempting to woo the local beauty Victoria (Sienna Miller), and as they enjoy a nighttime picnic, Tristan promises to go and fetch a falling star for Victoria. The star has fallen on the other side of the wall that is next to the village (hence its name), which the locals are not allowed to cross... because it leads into the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold.
The King of Stormhold (Peter O'Toole) is on his death bed, and his succession is still in question, as four... sorry, three of his fraticidal seven sons are still alive. To make their quest for ascension a little more challenging, they must go and get the Stormhold royal ruby necklace, which conveniently shoots off into the heavens before the princes can grab it. This is what causes the star to fall!
Also watching the falling star is a trio of Witches, led by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) who know that if they can eat the heart of the star it will return their youth and beauty.
Tristan arrives at an enormous crater only to find an injured girl there - and it turns out she is the fallen star, Yvaine (Claire Danes). Tristan and Yvaine then start to make their journey back to Wall all the while pursued by Lamia and the remaining Stormhold Princes, Primus and Septimus.
Claire Danes makes for a suitably pissed off fallen star, she isn't at all happy how her life is going until she gets to know Tristan's kind nature better. Septimus turns out to be much more of a bastard that I recall from the book, but that's good too. The action sequences are pretty exciting, and most of the special effects are top notch. Robert DeNiro puts in a brilliant cameo as the flying-ship captain Shakespeare who teaches Tristan a little more about how to be a hero, and what's really important in life. The climax - although different to the book - is incredibly well done, and as all the pieces fall together, it makes for a wonderful finale.
The most distinctive performance overall comes from Michelle Pfeiffer - who with just a quick one-second facial twitch can indicate the narcissitic glow of youth and beauty and her increasing frustration in regaining her age as she uses magic. She can be quite frightening and terrifying when required as well (the makeup helps!).
The disjointedness of the three plot threads at the start may throw a few people off, but they soon come together at the Inn. I had thought the scene at the inn came much later in the story, but it turns out it's a fairly early action piece in the film, and from this scene onwards everything flows beautifully - the pacing is spot on.
This film isn't a sprawling fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings, nor is it a stupid RomCom of the Meg Ryan ilk. It sits alongside The Princess Bride as a great combination of romance, comedy, action and fantasy (although with a slightly different emphasis) and I do hope it will become one of those classic 'cult' films that people of all ages will continue to rewatch and love.
10/10
Best film of the year so far