Jane Campion's brightest star

Bright Star is the latest offering from acclaimed Kiwi film maker Jane Campion (The Piano, Holy Smoke!) and is based on the last three years of poet John Keats’ life.

Ben Whishaw is cast as the struggling poet whose romance with Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) is the inspiration for both poem and title of the film, Bright Star.

Keats meets Brawne while working with friend and fellow poet Charles Armitage Brown (Paul Schneider). Brawne is the daughter of Brown’s landlady (Kerry Fox) and she catches the young poet's attention with her quick wit. They seem an unlikely couple; Keats a talented but not yet successful poet and Brawne a young woman interested in fashion. Romance blossoms despite the disapproval from Brown and Brawne’s mother.

Bright Star is a visually stunning film and Campion captures the doomed romance perfectly. Every frame is perfect with detail and the costumes are one of the many triumphs of the film. Campion conveys the doomed but intensely passionate love affair faultlessly.

Bright Star is a beautiful and emotional film which will take your breath away.

Helen King, 13 December 2009