“BRIGHT STAR” (Film Review, Trailer)

Written by Greg VictorcloseAuthor: Greg Victor Name: Greg Victor
Email: Greg@parcbench.com
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About: Greg Victor (Parcbench Culture Editor) is a historian, pop culture critic, and theatrical dramaturg and has stage managed theatrical productions on Broadway and on tour, including Billy Joel's "Movin' Out", Monty Python's "Spamalot" and more.See Authors Posts (97) on October 27, 2009

* * (out of 4) Rating: PG
Director: Jane Campion

“Bright Star,” the name of a poem by the ultimate Romantic poet John Keats, is also the name of this film about unrequited love in his brief life. If only this film captured the same artistry in similar brevity. Some of the scenes seem to take a lifetime to make their point.

Ben Whishaw plays John Keats, and Abbie Cornish plays his neighbor Fanny Brawne, in this love story set in 1821, directed by New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion. Since is it centers on a chaste love affair, there is a surplus of implication, and not even the threat of fornication.

In “Bright Star,” Keats (Whishaw) falls for a feisty girl-next-door (Cornish) despite the disapproval of his best friend Charles Brown (Paul Schneider). Schneider, known for films such as “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and “Lars and the Real Girl,” shows his comedic side as the Irishman who wants Keats all to himself. The three characters form a triangle that is slightly entertaining and a bit more relevant than we might expect from a typical period film.

As John Keats, Ben Whishaw is moody and vibrant, and plays down the frail aspects of a young dying man admirably enough to bring hope for a possible happy ending. He makes the life of a poet appear to be quite the noblest of choices, and is totally believable as the man who wrote the words that inhabit “Bright Star.”

It is Cornish’s slightly sarcastic performance that keeps the film engaging and slightly rooted in the present. She is not the typical period piece leading lady – not quite noble or ethereal. What she is is refreshingly charming in a common way.

After a promising start, the film occasionally slows down, but then, this isn’t really a film concerned with plot. After all, it tells the story of a three-year romance that ended in the untimely death of Keats at the age of twenty-five. This film is much more concerned with characterization and atmosphere. While atmosphere may be the main ingredient in a poem, it doesn’t always drive a film very successfully.

Jane Campion won an Academy Award for writing “The Piano,” which she also directed. Her work on this tale of growing admiration is subtle. Almost to the point of total obscurity. In the end, no amount of rustling fabrics, or sipping of tea from bone china amount to an extraordinary film experience. By far the best moment of the film is during the end credits, when Keats’ poetry is read in a voice-over. The reward for staying awake is some damn fine poetry.

Go read the book.

Best line in the film (spoken by John Keats, describing the act of writing poetry): “It ought to come like leaves to a tree, or it better not come at all.”