Review of Bright Star (2009) by James M — 11 Jan 2010

This was a genuinely beautiful film. I see so many of these historical fiction films that I often just analyze (read: intellectualize) "how" effective the film is in conveying its story, presenting its characters, and conjuring its environment.

pretty rote, standard procedure stuff. jane campion's latest film is economical and excessive in a way that serve its subject well. On the first point, its "compressed" look into keats and fanny brawne's romance shortcuts the usual gestures and mannerisms we are all so accustomed to seeing in literary romance (esp.

in film adaptations/reimagining of shakespeare and austen). instead, it injects a fresh humor and playfulness amidst the everyday tragedies. on the second point, the story is about the life of one of the great Romantic poets so there must be some concerted effort to depict suffering for one's craft.

In this, the film does well and with passable realism in its details. keats wasn't the poetic superstar nor lived in wealthy circumstances during his lifetime. he literally suffered from malnutrition, poor living conditions (itinerant really) and worried over how he was to support himself as an artist (hello, can we not still relate to this? okay, not you corporate types :) those who read literature in college knew this about keats and his poetic compatriots but we don't often get to see this in cinematic depictions where the emphasis had been poets as romantic figures untouched by the humdum reality of having to earn a living in a daily vocation.

The relationship of keats and his muse, fanny brawne (as played by ben whishaw and abbie cornish) prove convincing in their embodiment of the spirit of the Romantics' worldview--the word made flesh and blood.