I distinctly remember the release of this film in 2007, and this is for two reasons only. The first was the recently reformed Take That's latest song being the soundtrack to the trailer, and the second was the fact it starred Claire Danes in it of whom I recall thinking that I had heard nothing of since 'Romeo and Juliet' in 1996. The fact that it was only these two factors that remained in my mind shows how much of a rush I wasn't in to go and see this film.
The Second time this film came about into my life was when my dad brought it home on DVD. My mother and himself sat down and watched it one evening and my dad (who's opinion on film I greatly respect) told me it was good. Even so, I still felt apathetic towards it. Had I been in the room with them, then I would most definitely have watched it. However I was not, and so it remained that I did not watch the film.
Flash forward three years later, 'Stardust' makes it's terrestrial premier on Channel 4. Having seen it advertised all week, my boyfriend and I decided that we would watch it. To say the film is good would be an understatement. I have no idea why I had been apathetic towards this film for so many years!
As the name might suggest, Stardust is a very magical film. The film's concept is of a supernatural realm called "Stormhold" that is just on the other side of a wall keeping it separate from England. Our protagonist "Tristan" crosses this wall in an attempt to capture a falling star for the girl, Victoria, who he is devotedly in love with. Although Tristan finds the star, "Yvaine" who is actually a girl, fairly easily, he is not the only one who is after her. Amongst Tristan vying for Yvaine's possession is the decaying witch Lamia who seeks her for eternal youth and immortality, and Septimus. Septimus desires Yvaine as she is wearing a necklace that will be the key to him gaining his father's throne to rule the land.
Yvaine quickly learns of the dangers she is in if she should end up in the wrong hands, so trusting Tristan they set off back to "Wall village" so he can prove his love for Victoria before sending Yvaine home. They encounter a few different people on their adventure, gaining capture aboard Captain Shakespeare's ship (Robert De Niro) and suffering at the hands of the witches. But of course they're journey comes to an end and we eventually see the magical conclusion that we desire.
This film is enchanting from the start. Each corner it takes leaves you burning with desire to see what will happen next and what more magic will arise from this beautiful unknown world. The cinematography is amazing as it creates perfect visually stunning framework that draw parallels with the stunning world of Stormhold and the magnificent fantasies of our minds that it acts out. It is enriched with originality and the complex yet simple script is truly refreshing and brilliant.
The cast is great and has many well known names in, however our protagonist's (Danes and Cox) have been doctored to be more unfamiliar names which I firmly believe is a clever mechanism for drawing us into the characters's likeability instead of being drawn to our own personal opinion's on the actor. With the likes of Ricky Gervais playing a merchant and David Walliams playing one of the dead brothers, we are shown a lot of familiar British comedy that makes the film seem more endearing as we can see the real depths the British writers have managed to incorporate.
Although admittedly there are a few moments which seem a bit too easy, take the moment where Lamia is destroyed, and some which you may think predictable, it still does not hinder the amazing essence the film has as a whole. It's such an exciting adventure to follow and the pace continuously moves quickly that there is not a point that we can look away as in doing so we risk missing something intrinsic to the plot. It leaves you with a great feeling of warmth and magic as well as a big silly grin on your face, and as a result I would most definitely recommend it.
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