David Bowie is such an obvious biopic-worthy figure: the aesthetic, the hit songs everybody and everybody’s parents know, the turbulent rise to fame and struggles with addiction…
So let me blow your mind by revealing that there’s already been a movie dramatising the late rock god’s life, and that it was released way back in November 2020. Why is it only arriving in Australian cinemas on March 31, after two years and countless other musician biopics? Search us, man: it’s a mystery too strung-out for even the flamboyant Ziggy Stardust and his Spiders from Mars to dig.
Stardust stars Emma. love interest Johnny Flynn as the fledgling icon Bowie, embarking on his first American tour without much faith, cash, or public recognition. In 1971, he’s still a relative unknown, coasting off the success of Space Oddity and treated like a freak for his long locks and high heels.
Marc Maron plays publicist Ron Oberman, and Jena Malone adopts a truly wacky accent as then-girlfriend Angie. In the trailer below Dave realises he has to adopt a bold new personality in order to ascend to legendary status. “There is no authentic me, it’s just fear”, he worries, before chucking on that red mullet and Starman getup.
Okay, so far so fan-pleasing. But let me bring down your spaceship by mentioning that none of Bowie’s music is in the film. That’s right, a movie about one of history’s biggest pop stars coming into his own failed to secure the rights to any of the man’s original songs, instead relying on covers of The Yardbirds and Jacques Brel.
That may account for the negative reviews of Stardust, which may then account for the film’s delayed release into Australian cinemas. Once you can overlook the lack of singalong hits, you may still like to bask in the mythos of early Bowie, in cinemas from March 31 or on demand through Google Play. Or you could always revisit the charming Neil Gaiman adaptation Stardust, with Michelle Pfeiffer as a wrinkly witch and a cute Charlie Cox…
