Regarding Bright Star

Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) is a fashionable young lady who loves witty remarks. John Keats (Ben Whishaw) is a shy poet who likes jokes, but doesn't care to dance. They're hardly an ideal pair. Yet, Fanny is attracted to Mr. Keats the very first time she meets him - despite his need for a new coat. She determinedly pursues a friendship with him, ignoring the discouragement she recieves from his obnoxious friend, Mr. Brown (Paul Schneider).

Pros: This movie is absolutely gorgeous. I caught my breath both times I saw the scene in the field with the blue/purple flowers. Fanny and Mr. Keats's love story is beautiful and almost entirely chaste (chastity runs deeper than simple abstinence). Mr. Brown's Scottish accent is awesome! The acting is almost impossibly good. Fanny's younger sister Toots (Edie Martin) is very cute and sweet.

Cons: "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 an experience beyond thought." -Mr. Keats, in a conversation with Fanny. Replace "a poem" with "this movie" and you have what I think of Bright Star. The first time I watched it, I didn't like it. I wanted it to pull me in, to capture my imagination and my emotions. It didn't. The second time I watched it, I was determined to become immersed in it. While even then it didn't affect me like many other movies I've seen, it was a lot better.

My Rating: T (thematic elements)

Picture from movieberry.com