The romance media gets a bad rep. From the bad takes on romance novels to lumping all romance movies into the same umbrella. The romance genre contains multitudes, from contemporary to historical to fantasy to adventure. If you enjoy stories with happy endings then there is guaranteed to be a romance sub-genre for you.
Personally when it comes to romance movies, fantasy and adventure are my favorites. Stories with an epic romance, high stakes, and characters with a task to accomplish. Of these, Stardust is one of the best.
Tristian Thorne (Charlie Cox) lives in the village of Wall, a town that borders the magical land of Stormhold. The kingdoms are separated by a wall that the townspeople of Stormhold are never supposed to cross. His father had crossed the wall many years ago and after his trip Tristin was left on his doorstep. To impress the woman he wants to marry, that doesn’t pay attention to him, he crosses the wall to retrieve a fallen star for her.
What Tristian doesn’t know is that stars fall to the earth as a human. Yvaine (Claire Danes), the fallen star, was hit by a necklace that was thrown into the sky by the king of Stormhold as he was dying. The star is being hunted by princes that want her necklace and witches, led by Michelle Phiffer, want to eat the heart of the star to become young again and maintain their immortality.
The cast also includes Robert DeNiro, Ian McKellen, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Peter O’Toole, Ben Barnes, and Henry Cavill.
Stardust is a fairytale with a lovely romance at its core. Tristan starts the movie in love with another character. He’s only going to get the star to impress her. In the process of bringing the star back to his original “love”, he falls in love with the star. Tristan and Yvaine have a love story for the ages. In the process of trying to cross the wall they get to know each other. They work together and face danger together. Tristan grows into himself as a person. He gains confidence spurred on by his new circumstances.
A good romance hinges on chemistry and the audience’s ability to believe that this couple belongs together. By the end of Stardust you can’t help but root for Yvanie and Tristan. They obviously bring out the best in each other. They get all the tropes; seemingly unrequited romance, longing looks, and a great dance scene. Their love literally saves the day. Then at the end we learn that have a long happy life together before going back to the stars. They make you believe that true love can conquer anything and it’s that a sentiment that we need a little more of today. At the very least it’s fun to to visit a fantasy kingdom for a little while.