Bright Star (2009)

The three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.

Director:

Jane Campion

Writers:

Jane Campion, Jane Campion (screenplay)

Stars:

Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 52 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Abbie Cornish	...	Fanny Brawne
Ben Whishaw	...	John Keats
Paul Schneider	...	Mr. Brown
Kerry Fox	...	Mrs. Brawne
Edie Martin	...	Toots
Thomas Brodie-Sangster	...	Samuel
Claudie Blakley	...	Maria Dilke
Gerard Monaco	...	Charles Dilke
Antonia Campbell-Hughes	...	Abigail
Samuel Roukin	...	Reynolds
Amanda Hale	...	Reynolds Sister
Lucinda Raikes	...	Reynolds Sister
Samuel Barnett	...	Mr. Severn
Jonathan Aris	...	Mr. Hunt
Olly Alexander	...	Tom Keats

Storyline

It's 1818 in Hampstead Village on the outskirts of London. Poet Charles Brown lives in one half of a house, the Dilkes family the other. Through association with the Dilkes, the fatherless Brawne family knows Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown and the Brawne's eldest daughter, Fanny, don't like each other. She thinks him arrogant and rude; he feels that she's a pretentious flirt, knowing only how to sew (admittedly well as she makes all her own fashionable clothes), and voicing opinions on subjects about which she knows nothing. Insecure struggling poet John Keats comes to live with his friend, Mr. Brown. Miss Brawne and Mr. Keats have a mutual attraction to each other, but their relationship is slow to develop, in part, since Mr. Brown does whatever he can to keep the two apart. Other obstacles face the couple, including their eventual overwhelming passion for each other clouding their view of what the other does, Mr. Keats' struggling career, which offers him little in the way of monetary ...

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Plot Keywords:

poet | passion | friend | john keats | 19th century | 

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Taglines:

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some sensuality, brief language and incidental smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK Australia France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

9 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bright Star - Estrela Cintilante

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£207,881 (United Kingdom), 8 November 2009, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$189,703, 20 September 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,444,637, 10 December 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé Renn Productions, Screen Australia, BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cat's name in the film, as well as in real life, is Topper.

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Goofs

When Severn drinks from his teacup, he spills tea into his saucer. In the next shot, the same sequence is unintentionally repeated from a different angle.

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Quotes

[last lines before credits]
Fanny Brawne: [speaking Keat's poem Bright Star] Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art - / Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night / And watching, with eternal lids apart, / Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite, / The moving waters at their priestlike task / Of pure ablution round earth's human shores, / Or gazing on the new soft-fallen masque / Of snow upon the mountains and the moors - / No - yet still stedfast, still unchangeable / Pillow'd upon my fair love's ...

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Crazy Credits

Ben Whishaw recites Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" over the closing credits.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Summer Special 2009/10 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Scotch Reel and Bonnie Highland Laddie
(1816)
Written by Thomas Wilson (as Wilson)
From the Album "Regency Ballroom English Country Dance Music from the Era of Jane Austen"
Arranged and Performed by Spare Parts, Bill Matthiesen, Liz Stell, Eric Buddington

User Reviews

Beautiful in the rarest of ways

With such high hopes for a film, a letdown is always lurking the depths of your mind, but in this case, Campion far exceeded my exceptions. Never could I have predicted the deep, meticulously crafted scenes, led so strongly by Abbie Cornish playing Fanny. The heartwrenching emotion in this movie was unlike any other; there has never been a more real portrayal of the most simplistic yet most common emotions that rule the heart. Campion went far beyond the usual "I am deeply in love; Now I am sad" and truly captured human idiosyncrasy as she delved into the illogical, irrational minds of two young and suddenly in love individuals. At times, it was almost too much to bear due to how intensely palpable the sadness was. To some, certain scenes or moments may have seemed a little longer than usual, but completely necessary is the silence, just as much as the dialogue. This film perfectly embodied how a simple, real, profound story should be told.

If the above were not enough to drive this movie on, the aesthetics were nothing short of spectacular. Each stitch in Fanny's sewing was as beautiful as each scene in a field of lavender or room flooded with butterflies. The magnificent settings, costumes, and natural sunshine pouring into a perfectly decorated room felt not contrived, but simply like a very real dream. As the curtains in Fanny's room got caught in the breeze, it was as if you felt it cooling you down ever so slightly as her content emotion overtook your mind.

Ben Whishaw, too, was superb: perfectly embodying the fragile, wondrous poet that was John Keats, so full of tender emotion. Fanny's younger sister was another beautiful element of this film and really stole the show in her own right with her hilarious and endearing perception of life in general. Each character and each line spoken brought something so special to the story. As much witty humor as there was aching sorrow, this movie is not one to be missed.