Review: ‘Stardust’ nails imagery, story of classic fairy tale

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Peter O’Toole, Mark Strong, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett

Rated: PG-13

While this fairy tale/fantasy film may look as if it’s for the whole family, take the PG-13 rating seriously. Many of the scenes have implications (such as cutting out the heart of a beautiful young woman and eating it) that sensitive younger viewers may find disturbing.

This isn’t a criticism, merely an admonition. Matthew Vaughn’s film adaptation of the Neil Gaiman/Charles Vess illustrated novel “Stardust” is in the same genre as “The Princess Bride,” “The Neverending Story” and “Time Bandits,” and it is as good in its own way as any of those films. And to be fair, some of the old Brothers Grimm tales had situations that were rather … grim. It seems the era known as “once upon a time” was not always a sunny, friendly, happy epoch in which to live.

A great fairy tale must feature certain elements: true love (which may not always be as it seems), a quest, insurmountable odds, fantastical creatures and evil antagonists. “Stardust” has all of these elements and is populated with characters and sub-plots that could very well have books and films of their own. Vaughn (who also co-wrote the screenplay, taking many liberties with his source material) keeps everything from becoming confusing, and the overall story is cohesive; the sub-plots never distract but rather reinforce.

Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) is an 18-year-old shop boy in the village of Wall, England. It’s named for the mysterious wall just outside of town guarded by a cranky (and surprisingly agile) old man. He is there to see that no one crosses through the breach in the structure to get to the other side. There is an enchanted land there, he tells visitors, but to the eye it appears to be just more of the pleasant English countryside.

Tristan must cross the wall. The lad is hopelessly in love with the rather vain Victoria (Sienna Miller). She is being courted by another who plans to propose. One night, Victoria and Tristan see a shooting star fall to Earth beyond the wall. Victoria says she will marry Tristan if he retrieves the star for her.

The audience already knows quite a bit more than the star-crossed would-be lovers. First of all, Tristan’s dad crossed the wall, entered the magical kingdom of Stormhold, had a tryst with a young woman and was delivered a “package” (it was Tristan) nine months later. We also know how and why the star came to fall from the heavens.

The king of Stormhold (played entirely on his deathbed by the essence of English genteelism, Peter O’Toole) is dying, and one of his remaining sons is to become king. As a test, the king throws a magic necklace into the heavens and sends his sons on a quest to retrieve it. It hits a star and brings her (yes, her) back with it to terra firma. In the land of the enchanted, stars take on human like qualities. The star attached to the necklace is in the form of a beautiful woman named Yvaine. Claire Danes is wonderfully cast as the fallen star; she is luminous onscreen, even without the special-effect lighting they give her in various scenes.

As Tristan heads off on his quest, so do the remaining sons of the king. They are the “remaining” because in the land of Stormhold, it is apparently acceptable to kill one’s siblings and rivals in order to attain one’s goals. We see some of the previously departed sons of the king, and some of the remaining ones will soon meet their deaths as well.

There is yet another one looking for the fallen star. Lamia (the fairy-tale lovely Michelle Pfeiffer) and her two sisters are witches who are growing increasingly ugly as they grow old. The only way to regain their youth and beauty is to cut out the heart of a fallen star and devour it. Lamia has a limited amount of magic at her disposal, and every time she uses it, she breaks a bit of the spell she has cast to make her appear young.

With the help of an enchanted “Babylon candle,” Tristan is the first to reach Yvaine. The deposed star is in a rather grumpy mood, having been knocked from the heavens and all, and is not interested in trudging back to the village of Wall so Tristan can use her as a bribe to gain Victoria’s love. Tristan assures her after that task is accomplished, he will give her the remainder of the Babylon candle, which she can use to return to her place in the firmament. The star reluctantly agrees, and it’s off to Wall they go.

Needless to say, with a pack of power-hungry princes and a witch with waning beauty on your tail, the going won’t be easy.

Tristan and Yvaine run into another unexpected glitch in the form of Captain Shakespeare and his sky pirates. In an airship straight out of “Baron Munchausen,” Robert De Niro captains a crew of ruthless “lightning catchers.” The good captain has a secret, however, and becomes a welcome ally to Tristan and Yvaine.

The land of Stormhold is rendered so beautifully in the film and the elements of classic fairy tales are executed so well that “Stardust” is a pleasure to watch throughout. There is a nice surprise at the end, another staple of the genre, as well as a not-so-hard-to-see-it- coming twist for Tristan.

For fans of “The Princess Bride” and the other adult-oriented fairy tales mentioned here, “Stardust” is a must see.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.[[In-content Ad]]