The real imbalance in Starman is the spectre of Spielberg and E.T the Extra-Terrestrial (as well as Close Encounters of the Third Kind) for it seems in Starman’s look that Carpenter was approximating (or at least referencing) Spielberg, whether by accident, design or even studio pressure. But the sentimentality and romance in Starman, whilst captivating, do not have the same energy and conviction that Spielberg brought to the premise. The problem here is that Spielberg is essentially a humanist, who invests much in the bonds shared between people, whereas Carpenter, whatever he may feel privately, is on the screen far more at home with arguably nihilistic, potentially anarchic visions. When thus faced with the same issues that Spielberg can invest with exuberance and conviction, Carpenter seems unsure and falls back on convention. Hence, although Starman implies the developing sexual romance between the two protagonists it declines to follow the notion through: it is lost in cliché, its script too contrived and improbable and in its minimal characterizations of those pursuing the alien, too stereotypical. The only freshness in the film rests in the two leading performances, especially Bridges, who was nominated for an Academy Award. Bridges and Allen provide the warmth at the heart of Starman, whilst Carpenter has to temper his cynicism. The result is a romance that yearns for an offbeat sentiment, but can’t quite find it.
Both Allen and Bridges are in a state of emotional confusion (such as is related to the alien experiencing human form for the first time). Allen’s plight though, is the more psychologically complex. A grieving woman, she is torn between wishing that Bridges were in fact her dead lover brought back to her, for her, and the knowledge that he is not from this world. In part, she desperately wants him to be the man she knew but realizes that he cannot ever be such. Romantic and sexual promises are integral to this yearning. Nevertheless, she moves to see the uniqueness of the alien as an individual, aside from her memories and desires. However, much of the rest of humanity depicted in the film (with the exception of one decent scientist, Charles Martin Smith) is loathsome. The plot dilemma is thus simply whether the few good people will help the alien before the many bad people can get him and presumably dissect him. Where E.T overrode convention with its sentiment, Starman ultimately cannot, the director’s misanthropy at odds with the romance as Carpenter is basically incompatible with the Spielbergian fantasy that Starman so frequently references, yet is finally unable to offer much different in its response and comparison. Despite a sly religious subtext regarding the divinity of aliens, Starman is one of Carpenter’s lesser films and was not the breakthrough anticipated by his fans. read more