- Starring
- Jena Malone, Johnny Flynn, Marc Maron
- Writers
- Christopher Bell, Gabriel Range
- Director
- Gabriel Range
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 109 minutes
- Release Date
- November 27th, 2020
Overall Score
Rating Summary
Imagine you’re a film executive looking to green light a film about music icon David Bowie. While it’s not a deal breaker, you cast a guy who looks nothing like Bowie. The script is a bit of a generic road trip story, but it’s still about the Space Oddity. And then you find out Ziggy Stardust’s estate has forbidden you from using his music. Stick a fork in Stardust because it was done before it even began.
The film chronicles David Bowie’s (Flynn) lackluster first tour of the United States in 1971, being driven from small venue to small venue by his publicist Ron Oberman (Maron). The events of the tour ultimately lead to the development of his Ziggy Stardust persona in 1972. It touches on Bowie’s quirks, his tempestuous relationship with his first wife Angela (Malone), and his fears over potentially losing his sanity because of a family history of schizophrenia.
Flynn does a decent enough job playing Bowie, particularly when some of the layers of persona are stripped away. Viewers get a decent sense of the man, but also where the “alien” fits into things. Malone doesn’t get enough to do beyond being the nagging wife left at home. Maron is the best aspect, being a devoted fan to Bowie while also enduring the musician’s eccentricities.
Unfortunately, the whole endeavor is kneecapped by the lack of actual Bowie music. In the scenes where he performs on stage, he only sings covers of songs by other artists. Additionally, the film’s road trip story is generic and just a bit dull for half the film. It was not until the nexus between Bowie the man and Bowie the character is revealed that the film comes alive.
In the end, Stardust is a big let down. The story is ordinary. While Flynn provides a decent portrayal to be sure, he is overshadowed by Maron which should never happen in any Bowie film. And not being able to use Bowie’s actual music is too big an obstacle to overcome. Go watch Velvet Goldmine instead.
still courtesy of Elevation Pictures
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