While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
View MoreA movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
View MoreAmazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
View MoreStrong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
View MoreIt was a pleasure to see this movie. The action takes place in a long time ago, everything is somehow better than today. A special experience is that through the whole film, John Keats's lyrics are written. As someone who loves poetry, this movie is a real revelation.Poetry and a combination of love is a somewhat forgotten way to enjoy the company of the person you care about. Sometimes the boys used to make lyrics to the lyrics, today ... Some other time! The film is not a top achievement when it looks at the whole.The film is not a top achievement when it looks at the whole. However, the story is drinkable, beautiful filled with the most sensual feelings, so it is to look at this kind of real enjoyment. The costumes are phenomenal, I can say that the actors were at an enviable level. The end of the movie where the lyrics are recited for a few minutes is a hit.7,6/10
View MoreWhen watching Jane Campion's affectionate account of the final months of John Keats's brief life I could not but ponder on the precariousness of human existence even at such relatively short time ago as the early years of the nineteenth century. Ahead were those advances in medical science that certainly have enabled this octogenarian to watch several hundred wonderful films rather than a small handful. It is the ephemeral nature of experience that tugs at the heartstrings, a romance with everything going for it, cut short because a cure now available simply was not there. "Bright Star" lovingly conveys the "carpe diem" of the all too brief relationship of the young poet with his very near neighbour, Fanny Brawne. Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish instinctively express the emotions of an affair they know to be all too short in a way that reminds that great romantic cinema is far from dead. As if this were not enough, Campion's work is terrific on period detail. A shot very near the beginning depicting a Hampstead village landscape with white sheets of washing flapping in the foreground is breathtakingly beautiful. And this just one of many. There are moments of exquisite tenderness such as the scene where Keats comments on the rosebud complexion of Toots, Fanny's much younger sister. We are never far from the poetry itself which is oft-quoted even to the extent of providing a background to the final credits thus rendering the usual rushed exit from the half lit "dream palace" all but impossible. There is a moment shortly towards the end when Fanny, hearing of Keats's death collapses in a paroxysm of grief. As moving as similar moments in the work of such masters as Satyajit Ray and Hou Hsiao-Hsien, this places Jane Campion's film on the highest level.
View MoreThis is what movie making should be all about and not the relentless drivel that comes from Hollywood. I thought that Ben Wishaw and Abigail Cornish were perfect for the parts; I doubt that anyone else could have carried it off as well. Both actors were true to their craft and I have developed a deep admiration for Abigail Cornish as she is amazing, a mesmerising interpretation indeed. Paul Schneider also was perfect and carried off what, to me, was a very convincing Scottish accent. I also thought the setting perfect and what I loved was the authenticity of the representation of an era that had no rural street lighting, no properly paved roads and gardens that were turned over to produce. I loved the laundry fluttering in the breeze and the absence of background noise especially as it was filmed so close to London in England. I especially loved the cat, Topper and the little girl was sweet without being in the least bit precocious. I observed a remark, with astonishment, by someone who wrote a critique who thought the acting bad and I cannot comprehend the slightest failing that would lead this person to come to such an unintelligent conclusion. There was nothing about this movie that I didn't like and therefore rated it a ten. Well done Jane Campion, a masterpiece.
View MoreI loved, loved, LOVED this movie! Similar to The Young Victoria, don't expect anything like a biopic on Keats. Though it's mostly historically accurate, as far as I know, it's a romance above all else. And it is done very well. The whole movie has a very quiet feel- beautiful cinematography that uses a lot of natural light (it reminds me a lot of the 1995 Persuasion in its realistic look), exquisite costumes, and brilliant acting. Even the music, while beautiful, is quiet. There are sensual undertones throughout, but the romance, like the movie itself, is very restrained. The heroine is usually "chaperoned" by her younger siblings (her sister, Toots, is beyond adorable!), and the pair cannot marry due to poverty and then Keats' illness. Keats' friend and roommate, the greasy Mr. Brown, also tries to prevent their romance, but this really seems to only encourage them! The ending is tragic (Keats died of consumption at age 25) but the movie is just gorgeous.The movie is worth watching for the cinematography alone. Everything is understated and subtle, and yet left a bigger impression on me than anything on a grander scale ever has.By far my favorite thing about this movie was the costumes! It's set in the Regency, which is always a plus (for me at least. I love the fashions from that period). The heroine, Fanny, is a seamstress and prides herself on her fashionable clothes, which she makes all herself. I loved that the clothes in this actually looked hand-stitched. Fanny's gowns in the beginning can be a bit over-the-top (bright colors, big hats and collars) but become more subdued throughout the course of the film. Most of her shoes are really cute too, take notice! Some of Toots' dresses use the same fabrics as Fanny's, which I thought was a nice touch.This movie is not for everyone. If you like a lot of action and that sort of thing, you'll probably hate it. I may get slightly upset if I hear that anyone hates the costumes, though!
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