Bright Star
Bright Star (2009) is a historical romance between poet John Keats (played here by Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). It’s not a spoiler to say that Keats died young, so it’s not a happy movie. However, if you are in the mood for sexual tension, historical costuming, and some astonishingly beautiful cinematography, then this is the movie for you. It was written and directed by Jane Campion, who adapted Andrew Motion’s Keats: A Biography.
Bright Star doesn’t do anything new, but it does everything well. Ben Whishaw broods attractively. Abbie Cornish plays Fanny as a woman who is both confident and insecure – a difficult contradiction to play, but a state that many of us have experienced. She has a scene at the end of the movie that not only had me in tears at the time but has haunted me since – have I mentioned that the movie is not happy? There is much recitation of poetry and discussion about how much time one should devote to one’s art as opposed to personal or financial matters, while the chemistry between the leads is through the roof.
The most memorable things about the movie are the tenderness between the leads, the stunning nature of the cinematography, and the movie’s insistence that Fanny herself is an artist, even though her art (sewing and fashion design) is mocked by men. Fanny uses the realm of the needle to share comfort, to create beauty, and to express herself. Also, as she tartly informs the perpetually broke Keats, “I can make money at it!”
Finally, I very much enjoyed Fanny’s poetry lessons, in which Keats says the following:
A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is a experience beyond thought. Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept the mystery.
– Carrie S
From Academy Award® winning writer/director Jane Campion (Best Original Screenplay, The Piano, 1993) comes an extraordinary film based on the true story of undying love between renowned poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw, The International) and his spirited muse Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish, Stop-Loss). In the wilds of 19th century England, a forbidden passion draws the two lovers ever closer, even as fate conspires to tear them apart. Bright Star takes you to a world where, though life may be fleeting, great art and great love last forever. Let this sparkling gem of romance illuminate your heart.
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