Bright Star 

Initially released in 2009

Now available on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

Directed by Jane Campion

Starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, and Kerry Fox

I was in a certain mood. It got a certain review. I read Keats’ poetry in college and graduate school and I remembered admiring it. I remembered that he died young.

Bright Star is the story of the relationship between John Keats and Fanny Brawn during the last several years of the young poet’s life.

What I Liked 

The best thing about Bright Star is that you get to hear some of Keats’ poetry. And hearing it read aloud, as it is in this movie, is worth doing. It got me back to reading Keats. For that reason alone, I’d recommend it. Another positive is that it reminded me of how many of our greatest artists died before they were 30. Keats was obsessed with achieving immortality through his poetry. He died thinking he had failed.

What I Didn’t Like 

Bright Star doesn’t teach us much, if anything, about Keats’ life or the world of poetry in England at the time. It raises some interesting questions about 19th century English society, but answers none of them. It is a movie about a Romantic poet, and it is done in a romantic way. The lead actor (Ben Whishaw) is beautiful and has a beautiful voice. I don’t know anything about Keats’ voice, but there are many painted images of him that make him appear to be a few points lower on the good-looking scale. But, you judge for yourself:

John Keats 

Critical Reception

* “Director Jane Campion’s most enthralling film since The Piano.” (Caryn James, Marie Claire)

* “Wonderful attention is paid to detail, including clothing, furniture and highly-stylized behavior. What is missing is emotion.” (Ed Koch, The Atlantic)

* “Yes, it is a thing of beauty and, yes, things of beauty are joys forever, but we can also probably say this about them: they don’t always add up to the most affecting movies.” (Deborah Ross, The Spectator)

You can watch the trailer here.

Note: If, as happened to me, watching Bright Star spurs you to know more about John Keats, there are many good books available. But since this is a movie review, you might want to check out a one-hour documentary about Keats produced by Encyclopedia Britannica. There are also several little videos available on one of his most famous poems, “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”