Stardust

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: Charlie Cox, Clare Danes, Robert de Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer

Young Tristan Thorne (Cox) sees a star fall one night, and promises his beloved Victoria to retrieve it in exchange for her hand in marriage. His journey leads him beyond the Wall, and into the mysterious land of Stormhold. Tristan, however, is not the only one seeking the star, now in the form of the beautiful Yvaine (Danes). The Lord of Stormhold (Peter O’Toole) commands his three remaining sons (who get slowly whittled down as the film progresses) to find the star, as whoever succeeds will be his heir. Lamia the witch (Pfeiffer, undergoing a series of startling transformations) needs the heart of the star to gain eternal youth. Tristan has to battle all these odds, as well as dealing with a flamboyant sky pirate (de Niro, playing against type rather successfully) and the various denizens of the fairytale land of Stormhold.

Stardust is a heady mixture of romance, comedy, adventure, fantasy and fairytale, but far from being a mish-mash of all these genres, manages to balance them all well – there are some moments with De Niro’s cross-dressing pirate captain and, dare I say it, Ricky Gervais (a minor cameo, thankfully, playing Ricky Gervais In A Costume) which will have you crying with laughter, and there are some scenes with Danes and Cox that are achingly romantic. Vaughn deals best with the action and adventure scenes – belying his heritage as Guy Ritchie’s protégé, and the modern dialogue – a departure from the bestselling novel by Neil Gaiman – sometimes seems out of place in the Victorian setting, but the comedic and romantic scenes pull their weight.

Cox is an unusual choice of lead, being relatively unknown, but inspired – he carries Tristan’s transformation from bumbling romantic to dashing hero perfectly. Danes is slightly off-kilter – not as ethereal as one would expect a personified star would be, and yet not down-to-earth – but still an excellent romantic heroine. The supporting cast, featuring (naturally) Most Of The British Acting Establishment (O’Toole, Rupert Everett, Mark Strong, Jason Flemyng, Ian McKellen, Nathaniel Parker, Dexter Fletcher and, for some reason, David Walliams (blink and you’ll miss him) and Ricky Gervais), which are all excellent, and the film as a whole will enchant you.

Enjoy.

Marcus Kelly