Bright Star (2009)
In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.
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Purely Joyful Movie!
It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
It's 1818 in Hampstead Village on outer London. Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) is introduced to John Keats (Ben Whishaw). At first, he dismisses her as a fashionista. She pursues him by reading his poems. She shows compassion to his sick brother Tom who passes away. His lack of an income keeps him from truly pursuing a romance. His friend and writing mate Charles Brown (Paul Schneider) aims to show Fanny as a cruel flirt by sending her a Valentine.In the sure hands of Jane Campion, this has both a poetic and true feel of romance. She shows restraint which only heightens the passion. The Brown valentine is a shocking turn and the height of romantic drama. In particular, Abbie Cornish delivers a compelling of a relentless love from the heart and passion from the time era.
I was literally stunned by this film, Campion has crafted another masterwork, and I found myself intensely relieved that I saw it in the comfort of my home rather than in a theatre. As breathtaking as I imagine it would be on the big screen I am sure I would have been removed from the theatre sobbing uncontrollably. At home I even had to pause the film several times because I just needed a break from it, yet I'd go back to it quickly, I was entirely pulled in to the story. Abbie Cornish is a revelation, I'd just seen her in Limitless, unrecognizable as the same actress. The costumes are so memorable I immediately began sketching one of her jackets to replicate (and I've never done that before from watching a period film). The art direction was haunting - like perfect still-life paintings. Fanny's little sister Toots, played by Edie Martin, delighted me every time she appeared on screen. The poetry itself, and how seriously it was taken by the characters, took me back to a seemingly simpler time and I immediately began pulling out long forgotten poetry volumes (my garden hasn't looked the same to me since seeing Bright Star).Bright Star is a must-see.
....this starts out promising and does at times get a little slow, but because I love Ben Wishaw had to stick with it. Though it was nice not to see any gratuitous sex, just two people who were deeply in love and you felt it. A very nice film and very sad! I am surprised to see the guy who played Mr Brown, Paul Schnider, is American! A very convincing Scotsman and definitely a superb support. Abbie Cornish, I don't think is English, was also brilliant. When she heard of John's death her grief was very realistic, I really felt her pain! Ben Whishaw, as ever, extremely watchable and convincing. Also the young girl who played Fanny Brawne's young sister Toots was one to watch, very good little actress!
"Bright Star" is a filmed biography of the poet John Keats, concentrating on his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne during the last three years of his life. The story opens in 1818 when Keats and Fanny are introduced to one another while he is staying at the Hampstead home of his friend Charles Brown, and ends with his death from tuberculosis in Rome three years later. The title is derived from a sonnet by Keats named "Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art". (I keep the original spelling). The poem is believed to have been inspired by that romance and, although the reference in its opening line is clearly to a literal star, not a metaphorical one, Fanny has become known as Keats's "bright star".Recent years have seen a glut of films based on the novels of Keats's older contemporary Jane Austen, and these may have served as the inspiration for another film with a literary theme set against a Regency background. The film was directed by Jane Campion, who has made a number of other films with a literary or historical background, such as "An Angel at My Table" (a biography of the writer Janet Frame), "The Piano" (set in 19th century New Zealand), and "Portrait of a Lady" (based upon a novel by Henry James).As portrayed by Abbie Cornish, Fanny is a young lady of good family, obsessed with fashion and with creating dresses, hats, and other garments for herself. She is also flirtatious and seemingly shallow, a strange match for the more intellectual Keats. Another possible obstacle to their union is that Keats comes from a relatively humble background and fears that, because of the difference in their social standing, Fanny's family will not welcome him as a prospective match for her. As the film progresses, however, we begin to see more of Fanny's more serious side, and she and Keats fall deeply in love.I didn't care much for Ben Whishaw's performance in the first film I saw him in, "Perfume" from 2006, but he has certainly improved as an actor since then, on the basis of both this film and "Brideshead Revisited". Here he plays Keats as a rather quiet young man, externally aloof and reserved but deeply passionate underneath.As one might expect of a film from Campion on this particular theme, there is little in the way of physical action; the film deals more with emotional states and with the growth of love between Keats and Fanny. Like a number of British period dramas, the film is not only visually attractive but also sensitive and poetic and, in its tragic conclusion, deeply moving. A most enjoyable evening's viewing. 7/10