Set Fire to the Stars
Set Fire to the Stars

Movie spotlight

Set Fire to the Stars

2014
Movie
97 min
English

An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell raising hero, Dylan Thomas.

Insights

IMDb6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes50%
Metacritic56/100
Google Users70%
Director: Andy GoddardGenres: Biography, Drama, History

Plot Summary

In 1950s New York, the poet Dylan Thomas is lured to America by an ambitious young literary critic, John Malcolm Brinnin. Brinnin sees Thomas as a living legend and a path to his own fame, but the reality of Thomas's self-destructive behavior quickly takes its toll. As Brinnin grapples with Thomas's alcoholism and his increasingly erratic demands, their relationship descends into a volatile mix of admiration, manipulation, and mutual destruction.

Critical Reception

Set Fire to the Stars received mixed to positive reviews, with many critics praising Elijah Wood's performance as Dylan Thomas and the film's atmospheric portrayal of the era. However, some found the narrative to be somewhat uneven and the depiction of the central relationship occasionally melodramatic.

What Reviewers Say

  • Elijah Wood delivers a compelling performance as the troubled poet Dylan Thomas.

  • The film effectively captures the mood and atmosphere of post-war New York.

  • Some critics found the plot to be a bit too focused on the destructive aspects of the relationship.

Google audience: Audiences generally appreciated the film's biographical elements and Elijah Wood's acting, though some found the story to be dark and a bit slow-paced.

Fun Fact

The film's title is derived from a line in Dylan Thomas's famous poem 'In My Craft or Sullen Art'.

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