Bright Star

Bright Star is directed by Jane Campion and released in 2009.

Plot

Bright Star is a film about the love-story of poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne and it is based on the book with the same name.

John Keats, a poet of the 19th Century, living with his friend Charles Brown in the outskirts of London. Trough Brown and the Dilkes family, Keats gets in touch with the Brawnes, and their daughter Fanny. Keats being a mediocre poet, does not dare to get to close to Fanny, even though he is drawn to her, because he can not offer her wealth or a steady life. At the same time as he tries to understand his feelings for Fanny and write, he is also taking care for his sick brother. 

Brown tries all he can to keep Fanny and John from each other, but he does not succeed. He tries to kick him out, and send him away, but in the end, Fanny and John becomes lover. After a trip to London, though, John becomes sick (most probably from the same illness his brother had), and some of his friends decides that a trip to Italy is the best way to make sure he gets well. Meanwhile, the maid in the Brawne house, becomes with child, and Brown accepts to pay for the child, and this makes it impossible for him to accompany Keats to Italy, instead, he will be the one who reads the letter from Italy to Fanny and her mother, which tells them of the death of the poet. 

Opinion

The film was a lot better than I thought it would be. I do not like the actors that much, but they are bearable. I have not seen anything made by Campion before (no, I have not seen The Piano before either), but she seems as looking at what other films she had done, to like this poetic kinds of film.

I was a bit suspicious, Keats being alongside Byron and Poe, one of my favourite 19th Century poets, on whether I would like the film or not.

I did like the use of poems trough the film, as I guess, to show emotions the no one could put words to, in hint things. Fanny using literature and poetry in a way to come close to the one she loves, even though there is obstacles in the way, she wanting to know everything about the interests of her love, even though her own interests lies elsewhere. 

If you want to look at a  sad romance film, this is the film to watch, so don't assume it is a film on the life of John Keats, then you will be annoyed on how they only care for the love story and his love poems.