Bright Star [DVD]

Such a good film on so many levels.
A heartbeaking love story. Prepare to shed some tears.
A beautiful film to look at, Jane Campion doesn't put a foot wrong. It looks authentic and avoids the usual BBC period drama feel.
Great casting and of course superb acting.
I saw this in France and nobody in the audience moved until the lights came up.
If you buy one dvd this week make sure its this one.

This is one of the most beautiful and profoundly captivating films you will see. Some reviewers have complained about it being vacuous and lacking in substance. As with any film, you have to infer the substance, or feel its substance in your interpretation. Its crushing weight can be found in its portrayal of intense love, the absurd complications life introduces that prevent their love from life-long expression, and the grief that follows. The film captures Keats' and Fanny's love like a butterfly in a net and then releases it into your viewing mind. The acting was poignant, especially at the end, where Fanny's grief was portrayed in a way intense enough to cut you to pieces. It will make you feel as stricken and pained as if she was in the room. The tenderness of the characters is visible through action over dialogue, and you glimpse the moments of beauty that embody their love to them. The film was shot with the eyes of a poet, and throughout Keats' and Fanny's perspectives intertwine to create that atmosphere unique to the lovers. At the end, you'll end up almost believing the voice reciting Keats' poetry really did belong to Keats. And what's more, the beauty won't fade the next time you watch it, or the next time, or the time after that.

*** DVD and BLU RAY Reviews ***

"Bright Star" opens with a close-up of a thread being needled - but the pull and placing of the wool is not methodical nor part of some daily Nineteenth Century drudgery - it's being done carefully - almost as if there's tenderness being sown into each cross-stitch. We then see that the seamstress is a 20-year old lady sat by a window in the early hours of the morning in her bonnet and ribbons - she is Fanny Brawne (beautifully played by the Australian actress Abbie Cornish). Her younger sister Toots (Edie Martin) then wakes up in the bed nearby and sighs at Fanny - Toots may only be 6, but she knows exactly who all the 'just so' work is for...

Jane Campion's 2009 re-telling of the mercurial love affair between the struggling English romantic poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne has been accused by scholars and purists as being historically inaccurate and frankly hogwash. But I feel this is to miss the point. This is a movie - and some artistic allowance is to be expected. But more importantly, Campion absolutely makes it work - and for the whole journey too. You care about these idealistic people - you are enthralled by their short but oh so sweet shot at happiness - and Fanny's destruction at her soulmate's loss is one of the most powerful scenes committed to celluloid in decades.

The setting is Hampstead Village, London in 1818 - and Greig Fraser's Cinematography puts huge amounts of detail on screen. This is a world of Inky Quills, Scullery Maids and Pantaloons - where men smoke cigars, gulp brandy and sing chummy Acapella songs for the gathered Ladies and Gentlemen at society parties. A triple-pleated mushroom collar is a clothing advance and a man who is dying of consumption (Keats' brother) is described as 'diminished'.

Words are all in this society and Campion's script revels in it. Keats' poems "Endymion", "Bright Star" and "When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be" are all quoted - and the dialogue inbetween is just as elegant and insightful. But of course the movie lives and dies on the dance of love between Cornish and Whishaw - and that courtship and deepening of feeling features so many great moments... a look she gives Keats in the woods as they walk and exchange ideas, her reaction to Tom's death - create something of beauty to remember him by - an embroidered pillow case that she sat up all night making - her feet curling on a bed as she devours one of Keats love letters - her tender kisses on the paper as she posts her reply... It could all have been so terribly corny, but both the actors and the script give it life and a genuine beating heart. Mark Bradshaw's music is also used sparingly and with great effect - and when it isn't there - the silence engenders a terrible feeling of foreboding (sickness, death).

Special mention should also go to Paul Schneider who is exceptional as the arrogant and obsessive Mr. Brown - supposed friend and fellow accomplice in poetry with Keats. Brown does everything to thwart the burgeoning romance between Keats and Brawne - feeling her a distraction from their lofty writing and a danger to Keats' frail talent - even coveting her as his own. His vehemence forces Keats to step up to the plate and Fanny is well able for him. The core 3 actors here are fabulous together. Special mention should also go to Kerry Fox as Fanny's practical mother and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Liam Neeson's son in "Love Actually") as her younger brother Samuel - also quietly superb.

The extras include (a) Working With Jane Campion Documentary (b) Behind The Scenes Featurette (c) Deleted Scenes (d) Photo Gallery and (e) Trailer
The lone subtitle is 'English For The Hearing Impaired'. My only real gripe is that it's not on BLU RAY - a format that would surely make this beauty shine like a diamond (due in 2011 apparently).

Campion and her exceptionally talented cast are to be congratulated - "Bright Star" is a literate, sensual, beautifully staged and gushingly romantic tale - and proud of it.

They did a great job and I for one was deeply moved...

PS: the BLU RAY Issue...

As you can see from the photo provided by Amazon - this appears to be a GERMAN issue on BLU RAY - but the copy I received this morning (Dec 2011) is in fact a FRENCH Pathe issue with that language used for all over the cover artwork.

There are 2 audio tracks - 'both' FRENCH and ENGLISH DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. It is obviously defaulted to play in French when you start the disc, but a simple flick of the audio button brings in the English version. The extras on the DVD (including the "Working With..." making of) are all intact - but there are also some totally unrelated Australian Black & White shorts tagged on (God knows why).

But the big news is the picture improvement - which at times is simply breathtaking. The outdoor Hampstead scenes, Fanny sowing her garments in her home, Keats lying on top of a tree with its flowering buds beneath him, Fanny walking through a field of bluebells, the child Toots and the cat Topper in Fanny's room full of butterflies, the intricate costumes - so many things and scenes are improved - and beautifully so.

A gorgeous film made better by BLU RAY. Seek it out in this form.