Neil Gaiman's Stardust
When I first saw the poster for Stardust, I thought, "Oh, the umpteen-billionth reiteration of the same fairy tale story." This is only because, at the time, I didn't know Neil Gaiman had written a book by that name. I respect his writing skills enough to suspend judgment on the topic and go see it.
When I saw in promotional materials what appeared to be a sailing vessel under dark skies, I expected a segment of the film to contain some element in the way of Master And Commander. In that concept, the crew would fight epic sea battles, starve, receive horrible wounds, and persevere with steely determination full of moral gravitas against long odds and a dark, dramatic interpersonal crew conflict of treason, authoritarianism and sabotage. That's not the kind of flavor Stardust is intended to have.
It's a light confection. The best aspect of Stardust was Gaiman's flair for clever humor, exemplified by what he really did with the crew of the ship. (And what a ship it is, by the way! It stole the limelight!) Gaiman has a more charming and wry style of humor than the laugh-out-loud hilarity Terry Pratchett provided him with in their superb apocalyptic comedy novel "Good Omens". The gate-keeper was wonderful, as was everything involving goats. It didn't make me laugh, but it did make me smile.
The two actors who seemed to fit the film best were Princes: the excellent Rupert Everett, and Mark Strong, who was not Richard Lewis as I had thought. (I'm not sure, but this might be because Richard Lewis in "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" has somehow become what I expect from evil Princes. How did that happen?) And, well, Nathaniel Parker. He's so right for it, they probably didn't even have to cast him as the adult Dunstan Thorne-- the film crew showed up and he was already living in the cottage.
Part of that is that I like characters in a movie such as The Princess Bride to be played by offbeat character actors. Michelle Pfieffer and Robert DeNiro were too mainstream to fit into their roles in Stardust. They both completely phoned in their performances through most of the movie. Perhaps the director was too cowed by their star power to yell "Cut! I didn't believe that at all. Were you thinking about it when you said it, or were you thinking about the catering table? Do it again." DeNiro's New York City accent? Who thought that was going to work? It was already difficult to get inside the world of the film, and that kicked me right out of it.
This is an enjoyable but non-classic film. The one thing that will stay with me might be what it has to say about love.
Overall, whether to consider Stardust mediocre depends on what topics you like to watch and which ones you consider predictable. Books and films have taken me to visit the realm in which Stardust is set more times than I can count. I have met each of the characters many times, sometimes in superior incarnations. Assigning quirks such as cross-dressing is a serviceable technique, but not quite enough to breathe new interest. It does not fare well when set next to, for instance, Willow.
I really wanted to see Sunshine instead, because it had a topic that happens to interest me personally. I chose this one instead, as a public service to my friends who are seem to be trying to start a semi-organized movement to advance Neil Gaiman's career. That's an admirable goal, but Mirror Mask, Stardust and the trailer for Beowulf are making me worry that either cinema might be the wrong vehicle for his considerable talent, or he's just working with the wrong people in Hollywood to bring out his potential. Unless you're a sufficiently serious fan of Neil Gaiman to track his career step-by-step, skip this one in theaters and catch it on DVD.
Comments
stormgren on Aug. 12, 2007 7:06 PM
I really wanted to see Sunshine instead, because it had a topic that happens to interest me personally. I chose this one instead, as a public service to my friends who are seem to be trying to start a semi-organized movement to advance Neil Gaiman's career.
I've been hearing from friends (that I trust on such matters) that Sunshine is an okay movie for the first half, and that Event Horizon" did the second half and the ending better. Just my $0.02 worth.
Supposed to be seeing Stardust this afternoon. If nothing else, it's entertaining brain candy. At least I hope so.
ellalthea on Aug. 13, 2007 4:11 PM
have you read the book? It is one of my favorites.
matt-arnold on Aug. 13, 2007 5:38 PM
No, I haven't. Can I borrow your copy?
ellalthea on Aug. 14, 2007 2:38 PM
Sure, I'll bring it up the next time I'm in town, the 25th.
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