Bright Star

Set in London in 1818, Bright Star is the tender story of first love between John Keats, the romantic English poet and the girl next door, the stylish, headstrong Fanny Brawne.

Inspired by the actual love letters between the couple and Keats' sublime poetry, Bright Star reveals one of the world's great, untold love stories in this exquisitely beautiful and deeply moving film. Masterfully written and directed by Academy Award winner Jane Campion (The Piano), it stars Australian actress Abbie Cornish in an extraordinary performance that evokes the giddy intoxication of romance, alongside British rising star Ben Whishaw. Keats resides with his boorish friend and patron, Charles Brown (an excellent Paul Schneider) in one half of a Hampstead Heath cottage, neighbouring Fanny, who lives with her widowed mother, sister and brother. To Brown, Fanny is a constant distraction to Keats' work, a feisty minx not afraid to speak her mind. The infatuation that envelops Keats and Fanny in their early meetings grows into a sustaining and joyous love.

Bright Star is not a typical costume drama, Jane Campion has created an enthralling piece of modern cinema, full of passion, wit, ideas and life. Abbie Cornish is magnetic as Fanny, displaying both a mesmerising vitality and a heart-stopping grace. Her chemistry with the superb Whishaw, is pitch perfect. Breathtakingly beautiful, it draws you irresistibly into its world, a world of rare emotional honesty and an unapologetic reverence for romantic love. Bright Star is a triumph on every level, a superlative achievement.

Written and directed by New Zealand's Jane Campion.

Critic Reviews:

• " The film succeeds in making the lustre of Keats' words come borne out of the inspiration he finds in his love for Fanny Brawn and the transcendent beauty of the natural world. " – PJ Nabarro

• " The love story between John and Fanny fuels the narrative and draws in the viewer – we root for their happiness even though we know only heartbreak lies ahead. " – Nikki Baughan

• " There are moments of great and sublime beauty at work here. " – Matthew Lucas