The love story is classic the intentions are good, the ideas are big, but Bright Star falls flat. A slow pace, mediocre lighting, uneven sounds and two leading actors who lack chemistry tarnish this moody drama.’
The film focuses on John Keats, an English poet who lived from 1795-1821. His death at the early age of 25 left the literature world lamenting his genius.’
However, almost more famous than his poetry is the love story between Keats and his neighbor, Fanny Brawne. She loved him so much she wore his ring for the rest of her life, even though they were never married.
Ben Whishaw is a great casting choice for John Keats. He seems authentic as the pale, sickly poet who would be revered as one of the greatest romantic writers of all time. Whishaw brings a calming presence to Keats’ character and masterfully portrays a man in love.
Fanny Brawne is portrayed surprisingly well by Abbie Cornish, although she lacks the grace of young stars such as Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice or Anne Hathaway in Becoming Jane. Her dramatic scenes were heavy but she carried the burden well. She shined best during her banter with Paul Schneider as Keats’s best friend and fellow poet, Charles Brown.
While both leading actors performed great individually, together they lacked the chemistry that could have made this a memorable couple and a timeless movie.
The director, Jane Campion, has a record of creating noteworthy movies including The Portrait of a Lady starring Nicole Kidman, and The Piano starring Holly Hunter and a young Anna Paquin.
However, this movie does not seem to reflect her best work, as the film lacked fluidity. The scenes were slow in succession without any indication of ending in sight.’
Natural light may have been used with good intentions, but it ended up looking murky and dim on screen instead of providing a strong sense of time and place.
Background music was a rare occurrence in the film, and was used in few scenes. It made little impact and was unable to direct the audience towards any particular mood in the storyline.’
The costumes were used to portray the character differences between Keats and Brawne. Keats wears the same outfit throughout the film, depicting his lack of money and care for clothes.
Brawne, on the other hand, never wore the same dress twice. As a wealthy fan of fashion she expressed herself through the color schemes of her clothes, which often reflected her mood.’
The costumes are relevant to the films time, but the designs are distracting because they look unfitted to Cornish’s figure.
Another evident flaw of Bright Star is the actors’ accents. Although the story takes place in London, the cast does not seem to have a British accent, making the movie seem inauthentic. It detracts from the audience’s experience. Cornish was the only one who seemed to even hint at a British accent – a skill that should not be difficult for an Australian actress.
A true love story like this could have been great with a better director, and maybe even better on screen chemistry. Audiences can wait to see this mediocre romance on DVD.
