MattBrady
07-17-2007, 09:56 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/Stardust.jpg" border="0" align="right"><i>by Steve Fritz</i>
<b>WARNING: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS</B>
It’s a sight that that could make one’s eyes sore.
The scene has Robert DeNiro in front of a mirror, putting on his best frilly skirt and frock, strapping on his boots and even painting a mole on his cheek. He then turns on an ancient Victrola and clumsily dances the Can Can.
Under any other performer, this is the kind of scene that should strike one blind. Yet DeNiro manages to pull off the scene with such panache you can’t help but admire the actor for managing to pull it off. While we’re at it, kudos should be given to director Matthew Vaughn and cinematographer Ben Davis for their staging and obvious hard work on this scene.
It should go without saying that, fans of fantasy and comic books alike have nothing but the highest praise for the graphic novel <b>Stardust</b> and its creators, Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. Expect them to have the same kudos for Paramount producing this movie of the same name.
Based on a script by Gaiman and Vaughn, the film is an overall faithful interpretation of the DC graphic novel. DeNiro steals the movie as the charismatic Captain Shakespeare. Michelle Pfeiffer proves she can get really ugly as the witch Lamia. Claire Danes as the fallen star Yvaine and Charlie Cox as the heroic Tristan also hold their own. From there, the cast is an anglophile’s wet dream including the likes of Ricky Gervais, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole and Sienna Miller. The film goes into mass release on August 10.
Is there some reconstructing of the story? Yes. It kicks off with a description of the city of Wall and why the town earned its well-deserved name. We are soon introduced to young Dustin Thorne (Ben Barnes) who crosses over the town’s main feature and has a short adventure that will have major repercussions nine months later when he’s presented with a son, Tristan. Years later, Tristan has grown to a rather sharp looking young man totally head over heels for the gorgeous but icy Victoria (Miller), who’s engaged to a man who’s not only far richer than Tristan, but can beat the snot out of him, too.
Still, Victoria makes a deal with Tristan. When the two spy a falling star land on the other side of Wall’s wall, she promises she will marry him if he brings the celestial object to her before her wedding. As fans of the GN knows, what’s on the other side is a world chock full of magic and all manner of magical beings. There are those over there who also have their eyes on the fallen star.
The world’s ruler, The King of Stormhold (O’Toole), is on his death bed. At one time or another he did have seven sons and one daughter. Unlike life on the human side of the wall, being born first doesn’t guarantee immediate ascension. The last son literally left standing will sit on the throne, and I do mean literally. At present, there is only three boys left (the one girl is missing). So the King adds another wrinkle to make things more complicated. The child that brings back the fallen star preempts all the blue bloodshed (and these royals DO have truly blue blood).
That isn’t all. This world also sports three incredibly powerful witches, who are on their last legs. The fallen star could rejuvenate them, piling literally centuries on their lives, if they eat its heart. As each one doesn’t have enough strength even collectively, they elect one, Lamia (Pfeiffer), and give her the last of what they have to give her the strength to find the star.
As for the star itself? Eating its heart is not as metaphorical as it sounds. On landing we and Tristan discover it’s now Claire Danes.
In all, this incredible and fanciful quest is not just a coming of age story, but a whimsical moral tale of being very careful about what you wish for. You’ll never know what you are getting into.
Speaking of not knowing what you will be getting into, the real surprise here is Vaughn. Best known as a producer of many of British gangster films (he made his bones on <I>Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels</I>), his only previous directorial theatrical release was the underappreciated <I>L4yer Cake </I>. The closest we get to anything truly gangster here is DeNiro, who’s closeted air captain bears a much closer resemblance to his contribution to <I>Brazil</I>’s Harry Tuttle than <I>Taxi Driver</I>’s Travis Bickle.
Vaughn’s touch is surprisingly light, probably owing a touch or two from <I>The Princess Bride</I>’s Rob Reiner. Yes, there are times when he can bear down and bring out the truly dark side of Gaiman and Vess’ world, but overall there’s emphasis is on an adult fairy tale, one that there will be a happy ending, replete with plot twists and real peril. The fact is Vaughn manages to catch the elements of glamour and whimsy always running throughout the original story in a quiet, subtle fashion that always manages to keep the viewer entertained. Even more surprising is he keeps the tone light enough that <I>Stardust</I> ends up a truly remarkable family film. The aforementioned Can Can scene in lesser hands could have been a truly ugly thing. The way Vaughn handles it kids will get a tremendous laugh out of DeNiro just being out and out silly while adults can enjoy the subtle subterfuge that’s really going on in the scene.
Another major surprise is Pfeiffer as the malevolent Lamia. You have to be blind not to see the former sex kitten is maturing magnificently (she will be 50 next year). What’s even more impressive is while her good looks have held up exceedingly well, she’s also not afraid of putting on a ton of makeup and playing a vicious crone with a gigantic obsidian blade who knows how to use it. The inevitable final confrontation between her and Cox shows that the five year gap she took between projects, her last live action acting role was the film <I>Magnolia</I>, has truly recharged her batteries. Her Lamia has to be her strongest performance since she appeared in <I>A Midsummer’s Night Dream</I>.
But at its core, what appears to be the most interesting thing of all is just how well Gaiman’s work is now translating into film. You can’t really count the first two films he contributed to, <I>Princess Mononoke</I> and <I>Mirror Mask</I>, because the former was a translation job of a Miyazaki film while the latter was in the hands of longtime partner Dave McKean. In other words, the first really wasn’t Gaiman’s work (although still a magnificent movie) while the other was in as good a set of hands one could have a story of his in.
What’s interesting is <I>Stardust</I> marks the start of a trifecta of Gaiman films that will see mass release between now and April next year. The latter two are his and Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of the classic poem <I>Beowulf</I>, which Paramount releases this November. The third, <I>Coraline</I>, is being directed by the incredible stop motion director Henry Selick.
Quite frankly, if Vaughn’s handling of <I>Stardust</I> is any indicator, Gaiman’s adamancy about creative control over his movies is truly well founded. The man has an uncanny understanding of how to translate his stories outside of the printed page and onto the big screen. One would have to be truly hard pressed to find a single poor performance throughout this entire film. Further, when all is said and done, even though there are some changes from the original, the film still feels true to the original work.
After all, as said before, the idea of DeNiro in drag shuffling to the Can Can could have been one truly horrendous sight if handled even slightly off base. As it stands, Gaiman and Vaughn manage to take this scene and other things that should have fallen flat on their face and made it into probably one of the truly best films of the summer, if not the year in general.
<i>Stardust opens in theaters on August 10th</i>.
<b>WARNING: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS</B>
It’s a sight that that could make one’s eyes sore.
The scene has Robert DeNiro in front of a mirror, putting on his best frilly skirt and frock, strapping on his boots and even painting a mole on his cheek. He then turns on an ancient Victrola and clumsily dances the Can Can.
Under any other performer, this is the kind of scene that should strike one blind. Yet DeNiro manages to pull off the scene with such panache you can’t help but admire the actor for managing to pull it off. While we’re at it, kudos should be given to director Matthew Vaughn and cinematographer Ben Davis for their staging and obvious hard work on this scene.
It should go without saying that, fans of fantasy and comic books alike have nothing but the highest praise for the graphic novel <b>Stardust</b> and its creators, Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. Expect them to have the same kudos for Paramount producing this movie of the same name.
Based on a script by Gaiman and Vaughn, the film is an overall faithful interpretation of the DC graphic novel. DeNiro steals the movie as the charismatic Captain Shakespeare. Michelle Pfeiffer proves she can get really ugly as the witch Lamia. Claire Danes as the fallen star Yvaine and Charlie Cox as the heroic Tristan also hold their own. From there, the cast is an anglophile’s wet dream including the likes of Ricky Gervais, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole and Sienna Miller. The film goes into mass release on August 10.
Is there some reconstructing of the story? Yes. It kicks off with a description of the city of Wall and why the town earned its well-deserved name. We are soon introduced to young Dustin Thorne (Ben Barnes) who crosses over the town’s main feature and has a short adventure that will have major repercussions nine months later when he’s presented with a son, Tristan. Years later, Tristan has grown to a rather sharp looking young man totally head over heels for the gorgeous but icy Victoria (Miller), who’s engaged to a man who’s not only far richer than Tristan, but can beat the snot out of him, too.
Still, Victoria makes a deal with Tristan. When the two spy a falling star land on the other side of Wall’s wall, she promises she will marry him if he brings the celestial object to her before her wedding. As fans of the GN knows, what’s on the other side is a world chock full of magic and all manner of magical beings. There are those over there who also have their eyes on the fallen star.
The world’s ruler, The King of Stormhold (O’Toole), is on his death bed. At one time or another he did have seven sons and one daughter. Unlike life on the human side of the wall, being born first doesn’t guarantee immediate ascension. The last son literally left standing will sit on the throne, and I do mean literally. At present, there is only three boys left (the one girl is missing). So the King adds another wrinkle to make things more complicated. The child that brings back the fallen star preempts all the blue bloodshed (and these royals DO have truly blue blood).
That isn’t all. This world also sports three incredibly powerful witches, who are on their last legs. The fallen star could rejuvenate them, piling literally centuries on their lives, if they eat its heart. As each one doesn’t have enough strength even collectively, they elect one, Lamia (Pfeiffer), and give her the last of what they have to give her the strength to find the star.
As for the star itself? Eating its heart is not as metaphorical as it sounds. On landing we and Tristan discover it’s now Claire Danes.
In all, this incredible and fanciful quest is not just a coming of age story, but a whimsical moral tale of being very careful about what you wish for. You’ll never know what you are getting into.
Speaking of not knowing what you will be getting into, the real surprise here is Vaughn. Best known as a producer of many of British gangster films (he made his bones on <I>Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels</I>), his only previous directorial theatrical release was the underappreciated <I>L4yer Cake </I>. The closest we get to anything truly gangster here is DeNiro, who’s closeted air captain bears a much closer resemblance to his contribution to <I>Brazil</I>’s Harry Tuttle than <I>Taxi Driver</I>’s Travis Bickle.
Vaughn’s touch is surprisingly light, probably owing a touch or two from <I>The Princess Bride</I>’s Rob Reiner. Yes, there are times when he can bear down and bring out the truly dark side of Gaiman and Vess’ world, but overall there’s emphasis is on an adult fairy tale, one that there will be a happy ending, replete with plot twists and real peril. The fact is Vaughn manages to catch the elements of glamour and whimsy always running throughout the original story in a quiet, subtle fashion that always manages to keep the viewer entertained. Even more surprising is he keeps the tone light enough that <I>Stardust</I> ends up a truly remarkable family film. The aforementioned Can Can scene in lesser hands could have been a truly ugly thing. The way Vaughn handles it kids will get a tremendous laugh out of DeNiro just being out and out silly while adults can enjoy the subtle subterfuge that’s really going on in the scene.
Another major surprise is Pfeiffer as the malevolent Lamia. You have to be blind not to see the former sex kitten is maturing magnificently (she will be 50 next year). What’s even more impressive is while her good looks have held up exceedingly well, she’s also not afraid of putting on a ton of makeup and playing a vicious crone with a gigantic obsidian blade who knows how to use it. The inevitable final confrontation between her and Cox shows that the five year gap she took between projects, her last live action acting role was the film <I>Magnolia</I>, has truly recharged her batteries. Her Lamia has to be her strongest performance since she appeared in <I>A Midsummer’s Night Dream</I>.
But at its core, what appears to be the most interesting thing of all is just how well Gaiman’s work is now translating into film. You can’t really count the first two films he contributed to, <I>Princess Mononoke</I> and <I>Mirror Mask</I>, because the former was a translation job of a Miyazaki film while the latter was in the hands of longtime partner Dave McKean. In other words, the first really wasn’t Gaiman’s work (although still a magnificent movie) while the other was in as good a set of hands one could have a story of his in.
What’s interesting is <I>Stardust</I> marks the start of a trifecta of Gaiman films that will see mass release between now and April next year. The latter two are his and Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of the classic poem <I>Beowulf</I>, which Paramount releases this November. The third, <I>Coraline</I>, is being directed by the incredible stop motion director Henry Selick.
Quite frankly, if Vaughn’s handling of <I>Stardust</I> is any indicator, Gaiman’s adamancy about creative control over his movies is truly well founded. The man has an uncanny understanding of how to translate his stories outside of the printed page and onto the big screen. One would have to be truly hard pressed to find a single poor performance throughout this entire film. Further, when all is said and done, even though there are some changes from the original, the film still feels true to the original work.
After all, as said before, the idea of DeNiro in drag shuffling to the Can Can could have been one truly horrendous sight if handled even slightly off base. As it stands, Gaiman and Vaughn manage to take this scene and other things that should have fallen flat on their face and made it into probably one of the truly best films of the summer, if not the year in general.
<i>Stardust opens in theaters on August 10th</i>.