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Movie review: “Stardust”
BY MAGGIE SCOTT
The hyper-imaginative world of Neil Gaiman is resplendently realized by director Matthew Vaughn in the new romantic fantasy, “Stardust.”
From their once-upon-a-time opening, Vaughn and his co-writer Jane Goldman swiftly pile on a dizzying array of eccentric characters with direct and indirect connections to their hero, Tristan (Charlie Cox), a young man with true love in his future and a complicated birthright in his past.
Tristan lives in the village of Wall and wants to marry the pretty, vain and manipulative Victoria (Sienna Miller). Tristan declares his devotion and his willingness to do anything for the fickle girl, who gives him a week to bring her the falling star they see on a nocturnal picnic.
This is no ordinary meteor. It has fallen in the forbidden kingdom of Stormhold, whose boundary is marked by a stone wall, protected by a determined sentry. Despite his advanced age, the guard is able to turn Tristan back from crossing the wall. Unknown at this point to Tristan is his intimate connection to Stormhold. With help from his father, who once crossed the wall in his youth, Tristan is transported to the crater where he discovers the fallen star has taken human form.
Yvaine (Claire Danes) is no ordinary beautiful young woman with a mind of her own. She really is a celestial body, joyful at her liberation from the skies from which she has witnessed the miseries of the earth. Anxious for adventure and curious about this thing called love that she has witnessed in countless variations over the centuries, Star is quickly challenged by the feelings she has for Tristan: a mix of attraction and resentment, as he “chains” her for the trip back to Wall and Victoria.
Powerful emotions are not the only challenge she and Tristan will face on their journey. The Kingdom of Stormhold has been in royal turmoil, as the heirs to the throne of the ailing king (Peter O’Toole) engage in fratricide, leaving behind obnoxious wraiths who accompany the surviving Prince (Mark Strong) on his quest to secure a jewel that now hangs around the neck of Star.
That glittering necklace and the heart above which it dangles are also the objects of desire for three witches. Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) is particularly tired of waiting for four centuries for a youth-bestowing meal of that heart. Ingesting it will erase Lamia’s signs of aging for all time.
With the help of a unicorn and a magic candle, Tristan and Star are able to thwart Lamia’s first assault and find themselves the dazzled guests of a pirate, Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro), on his flying ship. The Captain is hilariously not exactly what his carefully crafted reputation would make him seem, but he is instrumental in helping Star and Tristan start to come to terms with who they are and what they feel for each other.
But, the course of true love is never smooth, and it gets pretty rough for Star and Tristan, as they head for a showdown with Lamia and the Prince. A bewitching mix of fairy tale wonder, cracked humor, eye-popping action, this story delivers plenty of enchanting fun, with magical performances. A Paramount release, rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and risqué humor.
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