I watched Stardust a second time tonight.
How lovely is that film. First off I have to admit that I’ve always had a liking for Claire Danes (Yvaine) ever since I fell in love with her Angela on My So Called Life. She does however really shine in this film (literally in fact) and that, quite simply, makes me happy. But there is more in this film - it’s a film that tackles the subject of love head on and shamelessly. Not in any incidental way, but rather more significantly woven into the fairytale through the device of a shining star.
The film is not sickly sweet though, it is instead rather comedic. Both Robert De Niro’s Captain Shakespeare and Ricky Gervais’ dodgy dealer characters ensure this.
I’ll admit that many of the lines are clichés - but they work very well and of particular note for my blog, the unravelling of the unrequited love is well scripted and very well acted:
Yvaine: The little I know about love is that it’s unconditional. It’s not something you can buy.
Tristan: Hang on! This wasn’t about me trying to buy her love. This was to prove to her how I felt.
Yvaine: Ah… And what’s she doing to prove how she feels about you?
Tristan: Well…
[doesn't answer her question]
Now Yvaine knows a lot more than a little about love and in much the same way an experienced counsellor brings their patient to their own conclusion about their situation, Tristan starts to think differently and inadvertently sets a course for the happy ever after - as tends to happen in these witch and princess soaked stories.
The film ends with Take That’s Rule the World which is so clearly written to fill the one remaining hole in the Stardust jigsaw. It’s no lyrical mastepiece - but it is an orchestrally perfect fit.
The best thing is that it is set in England. Maybe tomorrow I will go in search of the wall and try to find my own star. Goodnight my readers.