Based on the time, in the 1950s, when an aspiring poet, John M. Brinnin (played by Elijah Wood), brought Dylan Thomas (played here by Celyn Jones) to America, Set Fire To The Stars is a damn sight better than you might expect it to be. Shot in gorgeous black and white, it manages to hit a lot of familiar beats, yet also feels like a break from the norm, thanks mainly to that rousing central performance from Jones (who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Andy Goddard).
The movie starts with Brinnin making his pitch. He wants Thomas to come over and read at various venues around the country, the panel he is talking to aren’t too sure about it. Thomas has a reputation, and it’s a well-earned one. He’s quite the hellraiser whenever he can get enough drink down his throat. Eventually they concede to let the visit go ahead, but it’s on Brinnin’s head. His friend, Jack (Steven Mackintosh), will also be available to help keep things on the right path. Well, that’s the plan. Everything is turned upside down when Thomas finally arrives, quickly showing that he is fully deserving of the reputation that precedes him.
Goddard picks a couple of moments to make into set-pieces, in a way, but most of the movie is a flowing conversation, either full of poetry or full of people wanting to disseminate and examine the poetry, much to the disgust and frustration of Thomas. It’s a film about a great talent sharing the same vessel as a deeply troubled soul. Thomas is self-destructive, yes, but he’s also damaging to those around him, those who try to carry him over the rockier moments. Is he lashing out at people he suspects may be simply using them for their own ends? IS everyone around him using him for their own ends? Maybe. It’s a difficult fog of mistrust and paranoia to see through, made all the thicker by the scenes which show people standing back to “enjoy the show” as Thomas crashes down in a blaze of glory.
The cast are all damn good, with Jones stealing the show, justifiably so, as Thomas. Wood is equal to him, in a much subtler way, and reminds viewers once again that he’s much more than just “that lad that was Frodo Baggins”. Steven Mackintosh is someone I have been a fan of for a long, long time. He puts in another great performance here, despite the accent that he has to put on. Shirley Henderson and Kevin Eldon aren’t on top for, but playing Shirley Jackson and Stanley Hyman ensures that they at least have some fun, and are two of the more memorable characters onscreen. And then Kelly Reilly appears in the last third of the film to get her teeth into a fantastic, albeit small, role, portraying a woman able to get under the skin of Thomas and to pluck out his insecurities and fears, only to dangle them in front of his eyes.
Although it’s a standard movie in many ways, a by the numbers look at one moment in a man’s life, it’s also elevated by the script, which is suitably full of poetic prose, that gorgeous cinematography, and the cast. It might not set your world alight. Then again, it just might.
DIRECTOR: ANDY GODDARD
WRITER: ANDY GODDARD, CELYN JONES
STARS: CELYN JONES, ELIJAH WOOD, STEVEN MACKINTOSH, SHIRLEY HENDERSON, KEVIN ELDON, KELLY REILLY
RUNTIME: 90 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: UK
Film Rating: 
