“Bright Star” (2009)

“Bright Star” might not convert you to the poetry of John Keats.  For a lyrically challenged dullard such as myself, who exited his tertiary English studies at stage two out of sheer frustration at not being able to “work out” poems, the worth and much of the meaning of Mr Keats’ output continued to remain elusive throughout the film.  Whenever characters lapsed into recitation I might have been able to enjoy the cadence of the actors’ delivery but could in no way appreciate the subtlety of expression.

Thankfully an appreciation of “Bright Star” is not way dependent on your knowledge of Keats or the early 19th century school of scribes he is conventionally grouped with.  Writer/director Jane Campion isn’t that interested in producing the cinematic equivalent of Romantic Poetry 1.01.  She is after the human drama of the man’s life.  Specifically, Keats’ love affair with Fanny Brawne, his flatmate, secret betrothed, and, of course, muse.  It is romanticism with a small ‘R’.

Campion being Campion the perspective on offer is more Brawne’s than Keats’.  Casting young Aussie beauty Abbie Cornish is a stroke of genius.  Impressive in early roles such as “Somersault” and “Candy” Cornish is given the most substantive part of her young career and holds nothing back.  Flirtation, coquettishness, passion, anguish, and despair are all on display, often in the same scene.  That Cornish was overlooked at Oscar nomination time is nothing short of a disgrace.

The impediments to the Keats Brawne relationship are many.  Impoverished and critically under-appreciated, the poet is in no financial position to marry.  He is also sickly, riddled with the tuberculosis that killed his younger brother.

Then there is the problem of his friend and benefactor Charles Armitage Brown, a man himself smitten with Fanny and jealous of her influence over Keats.  The three way tussle between the characters makes initially for much witty banter which soon progresses into high drama as Brown seeks to keep the would be lovers apart, ostensibly to preserve his companion’s health.  Any who have experienced the pain of losing a friend to a partner whom they think unsuitable will be able to identify with the scenario.  Brown’s notions about women and love are altogether more worldly than his idealistic ward’s.

For all that Campion’s reputation is associated with a certain kind of stylised screen eroticism “Bright Star” is peculiarly chaste.  Keats and Brawne did not consummate their relationship so there are no bodice ripping sex scenes.  Instead you get something a lot more emotionally affecting: moments of intense, soulful closeness.

There is also more natural humour on display than is usual for the director, who often struggles to lighten the mood.  Keats’ interplay with Brawne’s two siblings humanises the austere poet and one scene in which he and Fanny intermittently kiss whilst playing the game of ’statues’ is charmingly perfect in its blend of innocence and romance.

Aesthetically “Bright Star” is astonishing, an apt visual backdrop for the story of one who introduced the world to the idea that “beauty is truth, truth beauty”.  Rather than speculate too much on the circumstances of the poet’s inspiration Campion wisely places Keats amidst the glories of nature, in the arms of one he loves, and lets the audience fill in the gaps.  While some might complain that we learn too little about the man’s early life - there is no reference to his medical apprenticeship, for example - it is an approach that pays dramatic dividends.  “Bright Star” is easily Campion’s best film since “The Piano”.