Posted: 08/19/2007

Stardust

(2007)

by Karen Petruska

Matthew Vaughn’s Stardust may not open to crowds as large as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it offers a refreshingly sweet bit of magic this summer. Thanks in large part to the charisma and charm of lead actor Charlie Cox as Tristan, Stardust is a delight, if not a masterpiece.

Most critics are comparing Stardust to The Princess Bride, favorably or otherwise. But perhaps a better comparison would be with the more recent Eragon. Both films offer stories of young boys plucked from obscurity to accomplish great deeds to become great men (while The Princess Bride tells us very little about Wesley’s own adventure into manhood aboard the pirate ship). Whereas Eragon seemed overloaded with plotting, perhaps the burden of adapting a series of books, Stardust tells a more complete and sustained story of a young boy who sets off on a journey to capture a fallen star to prove his love for a young girl. That catch here is that the young girl in question is vain and shallow, so Tristan must discover true love during his journey as well.

Claire Danes stars as Yvaine, a star knocked out of heaven by a ruby pendant thrown into the sky by a dying king (Peter O’Toole). (If that seems a bit farfetched to you, then fantasy films are clearly not your thing.) The king is disappointed that none of his sons have followed in his footsteps by killing all of their brothers to claim their right to the throne. With four of his seven sons still living, the king removes the red from a ruby pendant and throws it out the window, challenging his sons that whomever finds and restores the ruby is the rightful heir to the throne.

These brothers the funniest part of the film. One of the four gets pushed out of a window during the interview with the dying king, and another is poisoned shortly thereafter. Each time a brother dies, he joins his other deceased siblings in a sort of limbo. They have nothing else to do but act as a chorus for the film, for they are unable to pass on to the afterlife until a new king is crowned (don’t ask me why—the film is very vague on this point). As a chorus, though, the brothers’ commentary often proves more amusing than the events occurring. In fact, the brothers could have played a larger role in the film. Their appearances are brief and rare, but each time they appear, they provide an easy laugh.

Stardust was adapted from a book by director Matthew Vaughn and comedian Jane Goldman. Despite Goldman’s background in comedy, the film takes itself rather seriously. No where is this more evident then with Claire Danes’ Yvaine. She is a star—literally fallen from heaven to become manifest on earth. So what does a star act like in human form, you might wonder? Well, pretty much like everyone else on earth. She is injured from the fall and is therefore rather irritable. When Tristan places a chain upon her wrist so that he may bring her back to his beloved as proof of his passion, she is even more put out. But Yvaine’s banter with Tristan never rings true—her criticism and scolding of him are somehow too modern, too obvious, too too. Other than a certain glow that arises when Yvaine is happy, she seems no more otherworldly than a can of Coca-Cola.

The film suffers from a similar lack of imagination in other areas as well. Aside from a rather amusing twist involving Robert De Niro’s Captain Shakespeare, his life with his crew aboard a flying boat seems drawn from every pirate story ever written. Michelle Pfeiffer’s witch Lamia turns a boy into a goat to pull her carriage—why a goat? Why not a bigger, stronger, more mystical animal? The film is based on a book, but considering that the strength of film is visual imagery, I was surprised by how often Vaughn chose rather unremarkable visuals.

As for Michelle Pfeiffer, at 49 she remains one of the most radiant women in Hollywood, and she commands the screen in Stardust. Along with her two sisters/witches, Lamia has maintained her beauty for years by eating the heart of a fallen star. With their supply of star-heart depleted, the sisters are desperate for more. They discover that another star has fallen and set off to retrieve it.

For those who are counting, we now have three groups of people trying to capture Yvaine. Tristan wants her to prove his love, the witches want her for her heart, and the princes want the ruby that knocked her out of heaven that Yvaine now wears around her neck. Tristan gets there first, and the story begins.

Naturally, everything builds until we have all the searchers in one place for a final big fight. The fight was a bit disappointing, actually, since several subplots and the love story had been largely resolved by that point. Ian McKellen narrates a foreword and afterword that states this film is the story of how Tristan became a man. Defeating the witch and saving the woman he loves should provide the capper on the movie, but once he and Yvaine declare their mutual love, the emotional thrust of the film feels over.

Yet Vaughn keeps the film moving, and his tight pacing should hold any viewer’s attention. Mystical elements sometimes seem random, but the heart of the story lies in the goodness and bravery of Charlie Cox’s Tristan. I laughed when Robert De Niro’s pirate pretties-up Tristan by giving him some seriously luxurious hair, but it is Cox’s slightly mischievous smile and tender eyes that make him a pleasure to watch. When Danes moves past her prickly attitude, she and Tristan share an endearing tenderness. At its heart, this movie tells with sincerity and wonder a story of unexpected love, and that should match the heat of any summer day.

Karen Petruska is a writer and film reviewer currently living between worlds.

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