Wednesday Review: Bright Star

Not at all what I envisioned when I started and didn't finish it. It was just that painful to watch. Depressing long before Keats's death, I struggled to sit through the sewing, the awkward conversations, the bad jokes, the horrible scenery.

From the DVD:From Jane Campion, Academy Award winner of The Piano, comes a sweeping love story that will carry you back through time to experience the passion and romance between acclaimed poet, John Keats and his beloved muse. London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of high fashion. This unlikely pair began at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed not only by his poetry but also by literature in general.

Unimpressive is right! A handful of lines, Keats laughing when his friend insults Fanny, Fanny taking comfort in sewing, and so little passion between the pair I wondered why the movie was billed as a romance.

I like John Keats, well, I enjoy his poetry at least, and it's very sad that such a talented young man died at such a young age. But I don't think this film did him justice in the least. It plodded along.

I'm okay with Keats's death at the end, that wasn't my issue. No, it was the romance, or lack thereof, in the first 3/4 of the movie. Cynical? I don't think so, but maybe you have a different opinion.