Bright Star (2009)

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Director:

Jane Campion

Writer:

Jane Campion (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 October 2009 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The drama based on the three-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, which was cut short by Keats' untimely death at age 25. |

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Thomas Sangster	...	Samuel Brawne
Abbie Cornish	...	Fanny Brawne
Ben Whishaw	...	John Keats
Paul Schneider	...	Charles Armitage Brown
Kerry Fox	...	Mrs. Brawne
Samuel Barnett	...	Joseph Severn
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Shop Keeper
Samuel Roukin	...	John Reynolds
Olly Alexander	...	Tom Keats
Sebastian Armesto	...	Mr. Haslam
Antonia Campbell-Hughes	...	Abigail O'Donaghue
Joyia Fitch	...	Dilke Maid
Jonathan Aris	...	Leigh Hunt
Sam Gaukroger	...	Messenger Boy
Alfred Harmsworth	...	Charles Dilke Jnr.
Adrian Schiller	...	Mr Thompson
Gerard Monaco	...	Charles Dilke
Sally Reeve	...	Landlady
Edie Martin	...	Margaret 'Toots' Brawne
Will Garthwaite	...	Human Orchestra
Guy Mannerings	...	Removal Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Jane Campion

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jane Campion		screenplay

Produced by
Jane Campion	....	producer
Jan Chapman	....	producer
Caroline Hewitt	....	producer
Emma Mager	....	line producer
David M. Thompson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Mark Bradshaw

Cinematography by
Greig Fraser

Film Editing by
Alexandre de Franceschi

Casting by
Nina Gold

Art Direction by
David Hindle		(supervising art director)
Christian Huband

Set Decoration by
Charlotte Watts

Costume Design by
Janet Patterson

Makeup Department
Konnie Daniel	....	hair designer
Konnie Daniel	....	makeup designer
Jane Logan	....	hair stylist
Jane Logan	....	makeup artist
Laura Schiavo	....	hair/makeup supervisor
Laura Schiavo	....	key hair stylist
Laura Schiavo	....	key makeup artist
Sian Wilson	....	hair trainee
Sian Wilson	....	makeup trainee

Production Management
Stefania Antonini	....	unit manager: Italy
Francesco Tató	....	unit manager: Italy

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Glen Carroll	....	additional assistant director: dailies
Michael Elliott	....	first assistant director
Zoe Liang	....	third assistant director
Candy Marlowe	....	crowd second assistant director
Luca Padrini	....	second assistant director: Italy
Alessandro Trapani	....	first assistant director: Italy
Anthony Wilcox	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Graham Caulfield	....	drapesmaster
Netty Chapman	....	stand-by art director
Christopher Colman	....	assistant graphic designer
Stella Fox	....	production buyer
Peter Hooper	....	greens supervisor
Shay Leonard	....	stand-by props
Loretta Lipworth	....	art department trainee
Jon Marson	....	key greens supervisor
Amy Merry	....	graphic designer
Camise Oldfield	....	art department trainee
Stuart Read	....	stand-by props
Oli van der Vijver	....	props

Sound Department
Leon Anderson	....	foley editor
Helen Brown	....	foley artist
Craig Butters	....	sound designer
John Dennison	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rick Gould	....	adr recordist
Charlotte Gray	....	sound assistant
Kimberly Harris	....	adr supervisor: Los Angeles
Paul Huntingford	....	foley artist
Dan Johnston	....	foley artist and editor
Duncan McAllister	....	foley recordist
John Midgley	....	production sound mixer
Linda Murdoch	....	adr co-supervisor: UK
Chris Navarro	....	adr mixer
Sean O'Reilly	....	sound effects editor
Andrew Rowe	....	sound assistant
Tony Vaccher	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Hugh Goodbody	....	special effects senior technician
Mark Holt	....	special effects supervisor
David Johns	....	snow effects technician
Martin 'Marty' McLaughlin	....	snow effects floor supervisor

Visual Effects by
Justin Alvarez	....	digital compositor
Viv Baker	....	visual effects
David Booth	....	digital effects artist
Rebecca Dunn	....	digital supervisor
Paddy Eason	....	on-set visual effects supervisor: CIS London
Matthew Griffin	....	digital compositor
Hugh Macdonald	....	on-set visual effects supervisor: CIS London
Naomi Mitchell	....	visual effects coordinator
Leonie Savvides	....	vfx designer
Robert Stollar	....	digital compositor
Phil Stuart-Jones	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Luke Cairns	....	additional second assistant camera
Mark Clayton	....	gaffer
Sergio De Luca	....	first assistant camera: Italy
Gary Hutchings	....	key grip
Simon Muir	....	grip trainee
Romualdo Nati	....	flight head technician: italy
Carlo Rinaldi	....	second assistant camera: Italy
Paul Snell	....	camera trainee
Laurie Sparham	....	stills photographer
Paolo Tiberti	....	key grip: Italy
Simon Tindall	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Louis Elman	....	adr voice casting
Robert Sterne	....	casting associate
Rose Wicksteed	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sheara Abrahams	....	costume design assistant
Marco De Magalhaes	....	wardrobe master
Nigel Egerton	....	crowd costume supervisor
Joanne Mosley	....	costume assistant
Rosanna Normanton	....	costume production assistant
Debbie Scott	....	assistant costume designer
Kirsty Wilkinson	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Luca de Franceschi	....	assistant editor
Olivier Fontenay	....	colorist
Jamie Hediger	....	assistant colorist
Louise Kan	....	first assistant editor
Catherine Williams	....	sync dailies

Transportation Department
Mark Crowley	....	driver: abbie cornish

Other crew
Jacopo Addini	....	set production assistant: Italy
Sarah Alexander	....	producer's assistant: Jan Chapman
Leonard Crooks	....	head of New Cinema Fund: UK Film Council
Tim Davies	....	assistant location manager
Akshay Desai	....	location assistant
Paul Desira	....	runner: rushes
Gerry Grennell	....	dialect coach
Michael Harm	....	location manager
Layla Mall	....	assistant production coordinator
Jack Murphy	....	choreographer
Miguel Pariente	....	assistant accountant
Donald Sabourin	....	production coordinator
Aurelia Thomas	....	assistant location manager
Rita Walsh	....	assistant: producer: post production
Claire Warnes	....	senior business affairs executive
Steve Wentworth	....	floor runner: dailies
Dan Whitty	....	assistant location manager
Andreas Wiseman	....	production runner
Emma Woodcock	....	location manager
Emma Woodcock	....	location scout

Production Companies

• BBC Films (presentation)
• Hopscotch Productions (in association with)
• New South Wales Film & Television Office (in association with)
• Pathé Renn Productions (presentation)
• Screen Australia (presentation)
• UK Film Council (in association with)

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (all media)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Babilla Ciné (2009) (Colombia) (all media)
• Camilla Internusa PT (2009) (Indonesia) (all media)
• Golden Scene (2009) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Golden Village (2009) (Singapore) (all media)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment Slovakia (2009) (Slovakia) (all media)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (2009) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Hopscotch Entertainment (2009) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Hopscotch Films (2009) (Australia) (all media)
• Inmoa Entertainment (2009) (South Korea) (all media)
• Lev Films (2009) (Israel) (all media)
• Monopole-Pathé (2009) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Myndform (2009) (Iceland) (all media)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Pathé (2009) (France) (all media)
• Phars Film (2009) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• PlayArte Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (all media)
• Rai Cinema (2009) (Italy) (all media)
• TVA Films (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• Tobis (2009) (Germany) (all media)
• Vértigo Films (2009) (Spain) (all media)
• Warner Bros. (2009) (UK) (all media)

Other Companies

• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• Arion Facilities  telecine dailies
• Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)  funding
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Film Finance  funding
• HireWorks  Avid equipment rental for telecine
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Media Safety  health & safety
• New South Wales Film & Television Office  funding
• Production Copier Company  production equipment and services
• Screen Australia  funding
• UK Film Council  funding

Country:

UK | Australia | France

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Ireland:PG

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

The Hyde House and Estate in Hyde, Bedfordshire substituted for the Keats House in Hampstead. Jane Campion decided that the Keats House (also known as Wentworth Place) was too small and "a little bit fusty".

Beautifully crafted piece of cinema

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I just had the pleasure of watching this at the Grand Lumiere in Cannes FF.

I knew nothing of this film before I went in and it had no names attached which enticed me, is it only me who is sick of 'star vehicles'? It was immediately obvious this film was about John Keats the poet and I was at first a bit perturbed that it may be just another BBC backed period drama with the costume department drawing the bulk of the production budget. However once we had got passed the Victorian family portrait vignetted scenes, the film took on a more deep and involved tone, one that focused on the blossoming of the romance between fanny Brawne and Keats.

Keats friend in prose, Charles Brown came over as an abrasive Scot, keen to ensure that the young girl didn't take Keats eye off of his work. His accent will no doubt prove a problem for some audiences.

The core of this film though must be the performance of Fanny played admirably by Abbie Cornish. The depth and emotion of her portrayal were nothing short of brilliant. She carried herself well but her despair at Keats various departures and her reactions to the low ebbs of his illness were totally believable and added the desired weight to what would have otherwise been another frock show.

Ben Whishaw was brilliant as the frail, emaciated Keats, racked with the tuberculosis that killed his brother and would soon take his own life. One thing I did think whilst watching and that was that we never really saw Keats working away, burning the midnight oil, scratching out his poems, of which he wrote many in a short space of time during the latter part of his short life. We did however see much of his inspiration for his work and of course the title of the film is a poem said to be about the relationship of the night sky to his beloved Fanny.

The photography was brilliant, much use of natural light and we follow the love story from it's awkward start to it's passionate, bitter and sad end. We see Keats friends rallying after the onset of his illness and they decide to send him off to Italy where it is hoped the air might prolong his frail life. Fanny has to endure much of this in silence since she is not properly engaged to Keats and has no real say in his ultimate departure to Italy and is unable to support herself or accompany him.

The relationship is played out very authentically with none of your Mills and Boon clinches or bed scenes. The most we see is a genuine cuddle in front of the fire or the odd tentative kiss. This makes the pairing seem all the more deep and inferred. The climax must be when Fanny finds out the news from Brown that Keats has died in Italy. The take is unusually long but really hits home and even I found myself wiping away the odd tear as Fanny struggled for breath on the stairs.

A beautiful film documenting a little know relationship. We also see how Keats died almost a pauper and yet went on to become probably the best loved and celebrated of English Poets, up there with Byron and Wordsworth. Yes the costumes were faultless but this film belongs to the talents of Cornish and Whishaw as well as the masterful direction of Jane Campion.

KSE.