Bright Star

In sumptuous, exquisite detail, Oscar-winning New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion (The Piano) revels in the captivating yet chaste romance between early 19th-century poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and the radiant Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). The gentle narrative begins in Hampstead Village, North London, circa 1818, when Keats—who is living with his crass friend/benefactor, Charles Armitage Brown (Paul Schneider)—meets Fanny. The men are struggling writers, while she's a fashionable seamstress—a situation that elicits a rude remark from Brown and a sharp retort from Fanny, who notes, “My stitchings have made me more admirers than your two scribblings put together—and I can make money from it.” Fanny and Keats contrive to meet again and again over the next three years, and while flirtatious, tart-tongued Fanny falls for frail Keats' innate sensitivity, he's acutely aware that since he's not only penniless but also in debt, their tumultuous courtship is doomed. Nevertheless, the pair remain passionately in love until his death from tuberculosis at age 25. Despite its comparatively low budget of $8.5 million, Bright Star is a visually resplendent, lyrically seductive, and superbly acted drama. It might be argued that the pace is too slow and measured; Whishaw's Keats, overly passive; and the melodrama, a bit overwrought. But these are minor quibbles—the film revels in its innate intelligence, and Whishaw's recitation of Keats' Ode to a Nightingale is the perfect closing statement for lovers of literature. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Setting the Scene” (3 min.), “Becoming Keats and Fanny” (2 min.), and “An Inspiring Romance” (2 min.), as well as a deleted scene (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a fine film.] (S. Granger)