Stardust (2007)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Context:
In 1998, Neil Gaiman wrote the classic English fantasy novel Stardust and immediately it was optioned for film. Several years passed and eventually the novel was picked up by established director Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Time Bandits, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and upcoming director Matthew Vaughn who had mostly worked with Guy Ritchie on films such as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Gilliam's then-recent work on The Brothers Grimm caused him to drop out of the large project and Vaughn stepped into the helm.
An eclectic cast was assembled, including Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, and Ricky Gervais, among many others. Knowing absolutely nothing about the film aside from it's fantastical poster and it's non-mainstream summer film appeal, I knew that I had to see this movie. I'm not sure what it was that spoke to me so much. I wasn't familiar with the story or Gaiman or Gilliam's works at the time I saw this film, but I felt a connection to the oddball poster.
It was the best choice I made that summer.
Plot:
In old England, Tristan Thorne goes on a quest to fetch a fallen star as a proposal gift to the woman he loves. Across the forbidden wall where the star landed, however, magic rules all and many powerful forces are also trying to get their hands on the star's power.
Analysis:
Much like The Princess Bride, Stardust is a fairy tale for the modern age. But while The Princess Bride was more of a satire of romantic adventures, Stardust embraces its fantasy heritage in earnest, and lets the humor come from the characters acting like normal people, fueled by emotions and secrets. Despite many "silly things" happening in the story, everything is treated as important.
There are many differences from the book, mostly because a lot of material had to be cut out. But Vaughn did a great job of keeping the spirit and tone of the original alive, while still holding on to as much as possible. Despite being a fairly simple story, there are three plots all focused on the goal of retrieving the star and each has a large set of characters associated with them. There are over 20 main and secondary characters each with their own arcs which is a lot for one film to handle.
Most detractors of the film say that the story is too bloated, and it does feel that way at times. Because there are three stories to juggle, sometimes a lot of progress is made in two of the plots while the third is place on the back-burner for a while. One could actually see this story working better as a mini-series in order to regulate the balance of everything.
Another common complaint is that the novel is definitely more intended for adults, with maturity, violence, and sex added into the typical fairy tale setting. Stardust is rated PG-13 to reach a wider audience, and this is one of those rare instances when the lower rating works. Sexual topics are alluded too, but never discussed literally. This makes the story actually accessible to younger children and adults alike without feeling as if the film is pandering. The violence becomes stylized and humorous. One of the plots involves 7 princes who are out to kill each other and when they die, they are represented as ghosts with the scars of their death and all of them are comical, not grotesque. Even the one moment of actual bloodshed is handled creatively.
The film also features a bold message in the story with the character of Captain Shakespeare (Robert DeNiro). While initially presented as a bloodthirsty, no-nonsense pirate, he is revealed to be a closeted, homosexual cross-dresser. Although this is played for quick laughs at first, the resolution of his character arc finds that all of his crewmates have always accepted him for who he was and are still proud to serve under him. He is still a powerful and commanding character and despite the albeit flawed perspective of how to portray a gay character in film, at least their heart was in the right place for the underlying message. (Also, Captain Shakespeare is only in the film, but he fits well into the world of Stardust.)
Although I have certain problems with a lot of romantic film tropes, I do enjoy the "two people who are forced to go on a journey together end up falling in love" plotline. I haven't mentioned it yet, but the star is represented as a woman named Yvaine. And yes, Tristan initially kidnaps her to bring back to his insensitive bride-to-be, but of course they grow to actually care about one another while learning about what true love means in the process. In the world of the story, a star's shine is dependent on their emotions, so of course every time Yvaine starts to shine, we get an accurate reading of her emotional state. It's a cute visual.
The other two plotlines help the film from getting too love-heavy. Really, the story could have worked just fine with one antagonist, but having two created unique scenarios and team ups. First, we have the seven brothers who are fighting to become the new king of the realm and whoever finds the stone around the star's neck will claim the thrown. When the story begins, three are already dead, and when we are introduced to who we assume to be the "main" brother, he is quickly disposed of as well. This plot always keeps you on your toes, as you never know which brother will end up where.
The third plot involves three witches who use the hearts of stars for immortality and they've nearly used up the last one. Every time they use magic, it causes them to become older and older, so they use the heart to remain young and beautiful and magical. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the main witch Lamia who reverts back to her youthful form when she starts her journey, but eventually uses so much magic that she's a walking corpse by the end. It was a very cool visual transformation and, as with Yvaine's shining, a cool way to represent the underlying nature of the character.
In fact, the whole film seemed to be about characters slowly accepting themselves for who they truly were and having their inner nature eventually rise to the surface. Tristan gets a makeover to become more of the dashing, swashbuckling hero. Yvaine glows brighter and brighter. Lamia gets uglier and uglier. Shakespeare ends up wearing his femininity in public. Not only was this a romantic love story, it was a self-love story.
The Ending:
The final showdown at Lamia's stronghold takes a while to get to, but it is filled with so many of my favorite moments. My other favorite aspect of the film was how many times it presented me with something I had never seen before. And the coolest of which was Lamia's voodoo doll that she uses on the final brother, Septimus. First, she throws the doll into the water, causing him to drown in middair. Then, she uses the doll to fight with Tristan. The effects of Septimus's limp body being contorted in different ways during a swordfight as cool and hilarious at the same time. I really appreciate it when a film sets out to have as much fun as this one did.
Final Thoughts:
This film really is a nice little package. Visuals you've never seen before paired with characters you have seen before presented in a new and exciting way. It truly feels like some long lost fantasy had been discovered, making the film a delight to whoever watches it.
I don't really have much anything profound to say at this point. It's a funny, charming, fantasy film and I love funny, charming, fantasy films. It's definitely one I like to pull out on movie nights, considering how few people have actually seen it.
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