Stardust (2007)

Uh oh here comes another movie I'm completely obsessed with for reasons unclear to myself and others. Stardust is just... so awesome. Based on Neil Gaiman's wonderful novel, the character-heavy fantasy tale begins in the small rural town of Wall in Victorian England, which borders a magical realm. Young Dunstan Thorn (Ben Barnes) crosses the wall and sleeps with a beautiful slave to a witch, and nine months later a baby named Tristan arrives at his front door. When he reaches 17 (becoming Charlie Cox), he promises the beautiful Victoria (Sienna Miller) that he'll bring her back a star fallen over the wall for her hand in marriage. Right before he leaves, his father tells him about his mother, and gives him a special candle that should transport him to her, but instead takes him right to the star, which turns out to be a young, injured woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes).

She was knocked out of the sky by a mysterious necklace belonging to a recently deceased king (Peter O'Toole), whose fratricidal sons Primus (Jason Flemyng) and Septimus (Mark Strong) are searching for it so one of them can claim kinghood. Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), a powerful witch, is also on their trail because if she eats the heart of a star she'll regain her youth and claim immortality. Tristan semi-forces Yvaine to make the walk back to Wall, promising once he "presents" her to Victoria he'll give her the candle so she can return home. They encounter various problems, dangers, and kooky characters (including Robert De Niro's closeted pirate Captain Shakespeare) along the way and spend most of the time bickering, and of course you know what that means...

So as I mentioned before, I'm sort of addicted to this movie, and I'm not sure why. It's just fun! The sets and landscapes are gorgeous and the costumes lavish. It's the kind of world I'd dream of living in as a fantasy-obsessed kid. The cast is swell, with the adorable Charlie Cox and sarcastic Claire Danes (who rocked that British accent). Michelle Pfeiffer is pretty cool too- very snide. I have mixed feelings about De Niro's performance, feeling the character rode the line between stereotypical and likable. Plus he used the word "très" way too often. But I guess having a gay character portrayed positively in a major film is a good thing, even if it's a bit stereotypical? Since this character isn't in the book, I'd imagine that was sort of their aim in writing him in.

Clearly, Stardust sports a rather involved and slightly convoluted plot and large host of characters, but it's not confusing to watch. A convincing fantasy realm is created with its own rules and lore that seem to all make sense while watching, and everything in the story connects in a nice way. The script (penned by director Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, who are now working on the Kick-Ass adaptation together) deviates from the book in several ways, but is still really enjoyable and does a good job condensing various plot points. It's funny and adventurous, romantic and imaginative: everything a light-hearted fantasy film should be.

4.5/5