It may surprise you to learn that a David Bowie biopic was made and released without no one making much of a fuss about it one way or another. When done well, a proper music biopic can break box office records and unite audiences around the world in celebrating those pop icons who have changed music as we know it today. The new film Stardust from director Gabriel Range who co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Bell takes the more difficult task of telling a smaller, more personal story about an artist in hopes of tapping into something more artistically fulfilling, if not as audience-friendly. The opening text of the movie clues you in a bit to their approach: “What follows is (mostly) fiction.” The bare bones of this film have an element of truth to them, but the creatives behind this story are more interested in using Bowie to tell a story they find interesting rather than one rooted in honesty. While perhaps a fun personal exercise, the final product is one not at all endorsed by the Bowie family, and more importantly not that fulfilling as an artistic exercise.
The most striking moments of the film bookend the story. The film opens up with an ode to 2001: A Space Odyssey as Bowie (Johnny Flynn, Emma.) is in a spacesuit unable to engage with the world around him. The year is 1971 and “The Man Who Sold The World” is struggling to make much of an impact for the man who will become The Thin White Duke. He and his forthright wife (a marvelous Jena Malone) are surrounded by sycophants who cloud his impression of his place in rock-and-roll culture. We know it is only a matter of time before he reaches superstar status, but the Bowie of this era is not self assured enough to be the man he will become just yet. He wants to go to America where he can tour and break through in a real way, which is actually true to real life. Surely the hip Americans will be able to recognize his special talents! He could really use a confidence boost, but he is in for a rude awakening when he arrives in America and is met not with a star-studded welcome, but rather a man in a station wagon – America’s “very best publicist.”
The man is Ron Oberman (Marc Maron, GLOW), and the truth of the matter is this lone individual is the only person at the record label who sees the potential in his music. Bowie is deflated further once he learns that his manager screwed up and visa issues prevent him from actually touring in America. Well, he can tour American to talk about his album with publications and fans, but he cannot play any music outside of a few private gigs that Ron is able to pick up along the way – a vacuum cleaner salesman convention sounds like a prime gig, right? This is a pretty cheeky way to get out of using any actual David Bowie songs in this production. That’s right, there are no David Bowie songs in this David Bowie biopic. This is not an insurmountable issue, but when the story you are offering up is lacking dramatic heft it would be very helpful to have some notable tunes to perk the audience up. The cover songs he does sprinkle throughout the film gives you a bit of insight into why he may have not broken out as anything special thus far.
As David Bowie, Johnny Flynn delivers a good performance that does not quite capture the greatness he is capable of delivering. From his menacing performance in Beast (do yourself a favor and seek that one out if you haven’t yet) to his posh turn in Emma., Flynn is a performer capable of immense range. He accurately captures some of the vocal inflections that Bowie fans know all too well, but he never disappears into the role. You see a timid young man who is trying to figure out who he is and wants to become right in the middle of being interviewed by some high profile publications. Yet you never see that young man as David Bowie, not until you get to the other end of the bookend and catch the briefest glimpse of the Ziggy Stardust persona. Oddly enough, the best performance of the film is Marc Maron as Ron. Maron dials in his neurotic music fanaticism – WTF listeners will know what I’m talking about – into a beacon of hope and wisdom that helps create opportunities for this artist he believes in. This is great news for Maron, but bad news for a film where David Bowie should be the most exciting figure.
The film mostly succeeds when it tries to fill in some of the tragic backstory that Bowie is trying to keep buried, including his schizophrenic brother, Terry (Derek Moran), who serves as a harbinger of a possible future for David. What he does not know is that the embracing of this (controlled) insanity might just be key to reaching another level in his songwriting and performing. The movie teases the evolution of Bowie into “David Bowie” for so long that it feels almost cheap that you do not get more of a taste of the fleshed-out version of the artist. The journey this film takes us on has some interesting moments, but it rarely amounts to anything supremely compelling. For a feature about one of the most interesting musicians ever to exist, this is more than a slight problem. The creative team behind this endeavor has made the most conventional film for one of the most unconventional artists the world has known.
Video Quality
Stardust comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is quite fetching. This is a visually striking film with beautiful shots of the various period-specific settings where you can see an incredible amount of detail. Interior settings provide a nice reference to showcase the depth at play in the image. The vivid colors really pop with all the earth tones on display from the greens of the landscape to the warm lighting on stage and providing interior light. There are moments that recreate the aesthetic of 2001: A Space Odyssey that are quite eye-popping. This is a film with a natural color palette that is reproduced perfectly here with a pleasing radiance. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the intensely deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. This is of great relief due to the many dark settings that reside within the film. There are no obvious signs of any noise or other such digital nuisances. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation is a real knockout on all accounts.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures the journey in sound that this film embarks upon. While not a very frenetic film, the track gets a workout during the performance scenes and in crowded areas such as the airport and parties. The score from Anne Nikitin is showcased beautifully here with an enveloping use of the surround speakers. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the environmental effects or the score. The sound design is just as precisely thought-out as the on screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really nice soundscape of idle chatter and other noises This is not an action-packed film, but the movie brings a healthy amount of low end activity to the proceedings so you never forget that there is a subwoofer in the room. This is an excellent sounding release that brings the movie to life in a really splendid way.
Special Features
- Trailer: A two-minute trailer is provided which does a good job of selling the film.
Final Thoughts
Stardust is a biopic that manages to make David Bowie seem like kind of a square. The lack of David Bowie music in the feature is a bit of a blow, but it is the lack of an inventive through line that keeps this one from being anything particularly noteworthy. Johnny Flynn turns in a decent performance as the famed musician, but it is Marc Maron who makes this a film worth watching. Shout! Factory has delivered a Blu-Ray that features a pretty great A/V presentation, but not much in the way of special features. This is worth a look for David Bowie fans, but they should approach with extreme caution.
Stardust will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on June 29, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
