A few years ago, I went into the bookstore and what to my delight should I find, but a new Neil Gaiman novel. Now you may not have heard of Neil Gaiman and if you haven’t, well I have a few books of his that I could recommend and I’ll link them below. For now, I want to talk about the film Stardust based on the novel of the same name.
Stardust is rated PG-13 for some fantasy violence and risqué humor, but the risqué is just that and it’s not toilet humor. First and foremost, Stardust is a fairytale. What makes a fairy tale or a film spectacular is its ability to transport you to another world where you have suspended your disbelief and you can really immerse yourself in the tale. From the first frame to the last, Stardust delivers – in spades.
Welcome to the England (yes the land of Harry Potter) and the little town that borders on the magical land of Stormhold. Stormhold lies just on the other side of the Wall. The sleepy little village is quite aware of all the legends of the Wall and even keeps a very ancient guard pressed into service to make sure no one from town goes over the Wall. (If you loved the Chronicles of Narnia – then you’ll adore Stardust.)
The story begins with a young man darting over the Wall to explore. He meets a princess who is a slave to a witch and after one night of passion, he returns to his sleepy village. 9 months later, a baby is delivered to the opening in the Wall and young Tristan is brought to his father.
Tristan grows up and feels rather unremarkable, but yearns to make Victoria (a perfectly terrible and selfish one at that) his lady. She wants him to prove himself to her and when they see a star falling in the night sky, she bids him bring her that star and she will give him her love. Tristan sets off to journey beyond the Wall.
In Stormhold, the King is dying and of his seven sons, only 3 survive. He cannot decide which one will be his successor, so he sends a jewel to fly into the sky and decrees that they will have to quest to find it. The one that can restore the color to the gem will be the King. The gem is what knocks the star out of the sky to begin with.
The star Yvaine (Claire Danes in an ethereal role) crashes to the ground and is stunned. She is more stunned when Tristan finds her and then takes her prisoner so that he can carry her off to Victoria. In the meanwhile, there is more afoot in Stormhold as Tristan and Yvaine are pursued not only by the King’s sons, but also Lamia (Michele Pfeiffer in an outstanding role) the witch who wants the Star’s heart so she can retain her youthful beauty. Tristan and Yvaine are aided on their journey by Tristan’s mother and the dandy Captain Shakespeare of the lightening vessel (Robert De Niro in a hilarious role).
The story doesn’t miss a beat and older children should enjoy the tale every bit as much as their parents. Yvaine’s shimmering beauty and star like glow are just the trappings for a truly brilliant performance by Claire Danes, never have I seen her do such a wonderful job. Truth be told, there are some differences from the novel – but from the once upon a time to the beautiful happily ever after – Stardust is what movies are all about.
Playing in theaters now.
Check out these other books by Neil Gaiman.