LOST IN SPACE // A FILM REVIEW OF "STARDUST"
The excitement and thrill of David Bowie's life can hardly be summed up in one review. Or one song, one album. Even the entire Bowie catalogue doesn't quite tell the full story of the Thin White Duke. You also need his concerts, his interviews, the images, the memories. Truly one of the most groundbreaking artists of all time, and certainly one who never let himself be put inside a simply understood box. Since his untimely death in 2016, fans around the world have yearned for a film to properly give him the send-off he truly deserves. For most fans, STARDUST won't be that film, especially since the Bowie estate had no involvement in it and there isn't a single original Bowie song within. So can the film fly on its own?
Playing the legend is Johnny Flynn, who finds a kind of Bowie-like rhythm but struggles to ever truly inhabit him. The film follows Bowie as he embarks on a "tour" of America to promote his album The Man Who Sold The World. His American publicist Ron Oberman (Marc Maron) seems to be the only American who truly believes in him (his popularity hasn't gained traction in the states yet) but he is given very little money to promote him. Plus, due to Visa problems, Bowie himself isn't allowed to sing any of his songs. He can only talk about them (quite a save there, since no songs actually COULD be performed in the film). It goes badly right away, as the increasingly shy & timid Bowie doesn't quite know who he is an artist so he doesn't know how to sell himself to the US crowd. He's also haunted by memories of his half-brother Terry (Derek Moran), who introduced Bowie to all sorts of music styles before being institutionalized and becoming the "dark secret of his family."
Yet, none of this seems like Bowie. A shy, timid portrayal of one of the most forward thinking musicians of all time. This Bowie wants to become famous and the art kind of falls into his lap later (here suggested by his manager in a throw away comment that I guess resonates with him enough that he draws upon it later). This "Biopic that's not a Biopic" gets a lot of the details wrong, and freely admits that in the opening moments, where it states that ost of the film is Fiction. So, why go through in making it? It is, after all, supposed to be telling the tale of how Bowie first became Ziggy Stardust, yet you can't actually show any of the proper journey, or hear any of it (It should be noted that The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars also wasn't the album he crafted after his actual NYC trip. That would be Hunky Dory, but again, most of the film is fiction, not fact). To suggest that Bowie's biggest influence was his fear of not becoming his brother and going insane seems far too simple of an explanation to the window of his genius. And it seems that way because it is. Johnny Flynn doesn't have much to work with here and sadly is nowhere near Bowie, nor does he really look or sound much like him at all. Marc Maron's version of Rob Oberman is entertaining (because it's Marc Maron doing it), but it's not at all who the real Oberman was. Jena Malone's character arc as Bowie's first wife is truly one dimensional, with a whole middle section missing from her development.
All of that being said, there are a few magical moments of true wonder in STARDUST but as a David Bowie story it is severely lacking, and frankly kind of boring. There are some strong performances laced throughout, but this is not the Bowie Biopic that we fans have been clamoring for. It mostly serves as a palet of quesitons for fans. Why is everyone in the cast purposely too old to play these roles? Why is Bowie a timid, boring figure? Why is there no magic or true weirdness? Bowie has meant so much for millions of fans out there (including this writer, who mourned his death as if he was my own family member), and sadly this misfire will only be a footnote in the sure to be long road to get a proper (and estate sanctioned) Bowie on screen.
GRADE: D+
WRITTEN BY Christopher Bell, Gabriel Range DIRECTED BY Gabriel Range STARRING Johnny Flynn, Marc Maron, Jena Malone, Derek Moran, Anthony Flanagan, Julian Richings. Opens in Select Theatres and on VOD November 25th. For more info: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/stardust