A gem of a film

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2008)

Synopsis: To win the heart of his beloved Victoria (Sienna Miller), Tristan (Charlie Cox) promises to bring her a fallen star by her birthday. However, he gets more than he bargained for when the star turns out to be a woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes) who is being pursued by witches and princes alike...
I floved it! This movie just captivated me from the beginning - I went in unspoiled and knew only the bare-bones of the plot. All around solid acting - the characters weren't particularly deep or nuanced but it's not a character-driven film anyway. Danes and Cox had great chemistry, but there really wasn't a weak link in the cast.
The plot is rather predictable for the most part (it is a fairy tale, after all) with a few small twists. I do have a few minor quibbles (e.g. there was that old movie cliché where the villain could've easily killed the protagonists but didn't because they moved too slowly) but at the end of the film, I wanted to watch it again - which is surely a good sign (and I did eventually watch it again, on a plane, and enjoyed it then, too).
It's simply a beautiful film, and the cinematography is excellent. Stardust is good enough become a beloved classic, so it's a shame that it did poorly at the box office, and that it seems like no one knows about this film! It's suitable for all ages and would be a great family film. But unlike movies like Shrek, the reason it's appealing to adults is not because of some adult jokes and themes but because it brings out the child in you. It's just an enchanting, gem of a film that I totally fell in love with.