John Keats is considered one of the greatest romantic poets in the world, of all times. Bright Star follows the three-year romance between Keats and Fanny Brawne.
It is 1818 in London. Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) comes from middle-class family and is a student of high fashion. She's also neighbor with two poets: Mr. Brown (Paul Schneider) and Mr. Keats (Ben Whishaw). The writers think of Fanny as an outspoken flirt, and she is not impressed with literature in general, let alone poetry. But she becomes curious about the quiet, soft-spoken Keats, whose brother is seriously ill.
Fanny's compassion during Keats' grief, the pair reconciles their differences. To the irritation of Mr. Brown, Fanny asks Keats to teach her poetry. Their bond deepens when Fanny realizes how immensely talented, thoughtful and kind Keats is; meanwhile, he's experiencing a "new sensation" that he could only describe as "as if we're dissolving." They develop a romantic connect in secret.
However, their class difference gives them no prospect. Keats has no job and no income -- he's living off Mr. Brown. His poetry is not selling and he considers himself a failure. Then he gets seriously ill, and Fanny tries to attend to him but meets with objections since she and Keats are of no relation. When Fanny's doting mother (Kerry Fox) and Keats' best friend finally realize what is going on, they interfere but Fanny is adamant about her attachment to Keats. She even offers to be engaged to him. However, he knows what a burden he would be for her and he decides to leave for Rome (to recover, or to die?).
Ben Whishaw (Brideshead Rivisited) is affecting and appropriately reserved, contemplative as John Keats. The emotions conveyed in his understated performance are potent. Physically he resembles the slight-built poet. He holds his own opposite the brawny and aggress Mr. Brown and the "hearty" Fanny, played by Abbie Cornish (Elizabeth: the Golden Age). Cornish shows tremendous sensibilities, with a mix of spunkiness and defiance. She reminds me of a young Nicole Kidman. The actors play off each other well and show a quiet, reserved affection for each other.
As Charles Brown, Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl) is crass, brash, and somewhat unrefined, contrary to the fact that he's a poet. Brown is also the sole adversity for Keats and Fanny (despite the fact that the lovers are of different economic classes). However, Schneider is effective in showing his concerns and genuine love for his friend, and his despise for Ms. Brawne is understandable. Kerry Fox (Morning Echo) is lovely as Mrs. Brawne, Fanny's doting and compassionate widowed mother. Edie Martin is cute and extraordinarily unprecocious as Fanny's young sister, Toots. Thomas Sangster (Pinocchio) has a more background role as Fanny's brother, Samuel.
Written and directed by Jane Champion (The Portrait of a Lady), the script is languid, rich and textured. There's really not much of a plot: just two oddly matched people trying to make a go of their on-and-off-again romance. What Champion has succeeded is allow her actors bring the characters to full lives and give them substance and dimensions. The dialogue is witty and appropriately literary: when Keats speaks, he basically does it poetically. The result is a scrumptious script for the minds. Champion also includes some of Keats' famous poems and letters.
The production is handsome, detailed and well crafted. The costumes, especially those of Ms. Cornish's, are remarkable. The cinematography is gorgeous, what with extended sceneries of the four seasons to mark the passage of time. There are key scenes that are so wonderfully and emotionally conceived and executed that we can't help but realize what Keats says, of poetry, is true: It's like taking a swim in the lake -- it's not about getting to shore, but about the experience of the luxurious water, the sceneries, the feeling of being free. Champion takes that to heart and gives us a scrumptious experience. It's not about getting to the end, as we all know what happened to Keats before his 26th birthday.
That said, I'm a bit skeptical about how Champion portrays the relationship between Keats and Fanny. That being early 19th century, I serious doubt they would allow two young, single people to be together, alone, without supervision. Granted, Champion does try to convey the fact that Keats and Fanny are rarely alone, and when they are, they have to cherish every moment. But my skepticism is that the people around them must be blind to not notice the mutual affection between the two. In the real world in 1818 London, I'd think they would be much more reserved and careful.Also, Champion spends almost a whole hour depicting Keats' illness and deterioration. While that is an important part of the story and further shows Fanny's devotion to Keats against all odds, the pacing and gravity drag the film down. Personally, I'm more enamored with the first half of the film in which Keats and Fanny are trying to hide their feelings for while being impossibly drawn toward each other. Perhaps I'm too much of a romantic; the later scenes don't really do much for me -- it feels too heavy, in a "disease of the weak" sort of way.
In summary, however, Brigth Star is a beautiful story about one of our greatest poets and his romance, and we want so hard for them to prevail even though we know exactly what happened. Jane Champion has given us a tender and rich love story without resorting to sex and violence. Simple love stories still exist, and that has brightened my day.
Stars: Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Kerry Fox, Paul Schneider, Edie Martin, Thomas Sangster, Gerard Monaco, Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Director: Jane Champion
Writer: Jane Champion
Distributor: Apparition
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, some sensuality, brief language and incidental smoking
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Ratings:
Script – 7
Performance – 8
Direction – 8
Cinematography – 9
Music/Sound– 7
Editing – 8
Production – 8
Total – 7.9 out of 10
Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) is a young aspiring pilot needing a way to financially support her passion in flying. Being one of the few female pilots in the world, she has a lot to prove to the male-dominated profession. She is working with publishing magnate George Putnam (Richard Gere) to promote her career -- she wants to become the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic and Putnam believes her story would sell a lot of books. Her success--being the first person since Lindbergh and the first female to achieve the impossible task--makes her an overnight sensation. She and Putnam also fall in love.
But Amelia's heart is not in domestic affairs or even becoming famous. Fame and fortune are only means to an end: to allow her to continue to fly. Putnam, of course, is determined to make Amelia as famous and rich as possible, being the businessman that he is. He wants to marry Amelia, but she wants to be free. Eventually, he convinces her that she can do whatever she desires as long as he gets to be with her in return.
Amelia continues to conquer the sky, including making headlines by flying solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific. Some people call her reckless, however. Her adventurous spirit also keeps her away from Putnam. Eventually, Amelia carries on an open affair with Eugene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), who later becomes the director of Bureau of Air Commerce (who is also famous for being Gore Vidal's father). Amelia is now stuck between two men she loves, and the sky she loves even more.
Hilary Swank (P.S. I Love You) is the perfect choice to play the headstrong pilot. The boyish actress gives a wonderfully nuanced performance that conveys Amelia's passion and conflicts: she loves what she does, but she's tired and wary of all the trappings that go with it. Swank portrays the famous woman as a human being first, one who is flawed and vulnerable, but tries to stay true to her heart.
Richard Gere (Nights in Rodanthe) is dashing as George Putnam, one of the wealthiest, most visible men of this time because of his business as well as his relationship with Amelia Earhart. Gere's portrayal of Putnam is at times static and passive, although he conveys his love for his lady exquisitely. However, Gere stands out by looking and acting too contemporary for the time period. In contrast, Ewan McGregor (The Men Who Stare At Goats) exudes the right charm and mannerisms for the time period. Gene Vidal is supposed to be the love of Amelia's life (and they both share a passion for aviation), and through McGregor's deft performance, we can see why.
Christopher Eccleston (G.I. Joe) is affecting as the doomed navigator accompanying Earhart on her final flight. Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) is solid as a pilot who is won over by Amelia's determination. Cherry Jones (Ocean's Twelve) is effervescent as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Written by Ronald Bass (Snow Falling on Cedars) and Anna Hamilton Phelan (Girl, Interrupted), the story follows Amelia's life, from the time she met Putnam to the time of her disappearance, by consulting various biographies as wells Earhart's journals and personal letters. In fact, they've included some of these letters and notes in the screenplay. As a biopic, the script is old-fashioned, straightforward and even-handed. In fact, according to today's standards, the story lacks significant conflicts or suspense, especially since we already know what happened to Earhart. Many scenes feel more like a slice of life retelling of Earhart's life than drama. The lack of real conflicts and drama dampens the story and character development. Earhart comes across as a driven woman who is perhaps reckless and selfish. Probably spoiled. Her relationship with Putnam feels cold and her affair with Vidal feels disjointed and unsatisfying.
The dialogue serves the story well; but again, it lacks drama. Even the love triangle is handled with too much caution and subtlety. The exception would be the final reel which details Earhart's final moments based on correspondence and military records. Even though we know the final outcome, the events that lead to it are rather riveting. That is a stark contrast to the rest of the film, which feels tepid and slow.
Despite the objection of Artie's maternal grandmother Barbara (Julia Blake), Joe and Artie's daily lives become a hectic, structureless exercise of spontaneity. Joe befriends fellow single parent Laura (Emma Booth), who is led to believe Joe is romantically interested in her. But all Joe wants is a babysitter to make his life easier. When his other son Harry from a previous marriage (George MacKay) decides to spend some time with them, Joe scrambles to reconnect with a young man he hasn't seen for 8 years.
Clive Owen (Duplicity) sheds his slick action star image to portray a common man, a grieving widower and a struggling father. In many ways, Joe Warr reminds me of Owen's role in Children Of Men (though without the explosions and car chases) -- detached, emotionally handicapped, and jaded. Owen, despite his movie star persona, is an actor first, and his portrayal as the flawed protagonist in this film is seasoned, affecting, and sympathetic. Joe Warr isn't going to win any Father Of the Year award, but you can't help but understand his pains, struggles and, most important, love for his children.
George MacKay (Defiance) and Nicholas McAnulty play Harry and Artie respectively. MacKay effectively portrays the quiet, reserved and introspective teenager, who yearns for his father's love more than anything else. McAnulty has the tough job of playing a wayward child that is at times sweet and adorable, and at times wild and obnoxious. He does a good job of making us care about Artie without being insufferable.
Adapted by Allan Cubitt (Murphy's Law), the script is strongly character-driven and light on plot. It wastes no time to establish Joe's pediments. Though brief, the scenes with Joe and Katy are surprisingly strong and emotional; I give kudos to the actors for creating such a strong relationship out of a few words on the page. Once the story settles on Joe and Artie, however, it becomes rather mundane and dull. There simply isn't a whole lot of plot, so there really is no suspense, mystery, or surprises. What we have are characters, and to Cubitt's credit, he's made good use of silence, subtleties, symbolisms, subtexts and dialogue to create these characters and their relationships.
Jason (Jason Bateman) and his wife Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are considering a divorce. They've been trying to conceive for over a year and that has put a strain on their relationship (not to mention Jason is a control freak). To try to mend their marriage, they've decided to go a world-renowned "couples retreat" called Eden somewhere in a tropical island. The problem is, in order for them to get the half-price rate, they have to convince their friends to go as a group.
Their friends include suburban mom and dad Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Marlin Akerman), recently divorced Shane (Faizon Love) and his 20-year-old girlfriend Trudy (Kali Hawk), plus Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) who are cheating on each other. The couples arrive on the island thinking they're just going to have a fun-filled week of vacation, but they're not ready for the "program" designed by Eden founder Marcel (Jean Reno).
It turns out that there's much to learn and improve in their respective relationships. Dave and Ronnie seem happy together, but being married with children has taken the fun out of their marriage. Shane can't get over his ex-wife (Tasha Smith) but he wants to please Trudy despite the huge age difference. Jason, meanwhile, is suffocating Cynthia. Joey and Lucy don't even want to see each other there -- they both try to have sex with other people. They must learn to communicate and figure out their relationship or else they must leave the island immediately. Lured by what the beautiful resort has to offer, they reluctantly stay.
The assemble cast mostly do their job, although the performances are either over the top or underwhelming. Vince Vaughn (Four Christmases) is fine playing the every man husband/father. His onscreen relationship with Malin Akerman (The Proposal) seems genuine and is one of the easiest-going, pleasant things of the film. Jason Bateman (The Invention of Lying) and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) are cold together, which fits their onscreen relationship but makes the eventual reconciliation unconvincing. Jon Favreau (I Love You, Man) is quite funny as the man-pig and Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) is equally devious. Faizon Love (Of Boys and Men) is a big teddy bear but Kali Hawk (Holla) is irritating even if her character calls for it.
The supporting cast fares better with their minor but memorable role. Jean Reno (The Pink Panther 2) is delightful as the pretentious guru, Marcel. John Michael Higgins, Ken Jeong, Charlotte Cornwell and Amy Hill have interesting cameos as couple therapists. But the scene-stealer award goes to Carlos Ponce (Lipstick Jungle) as the yoga instructor Salvadore--his physical comedy coupled with his Latino-lover expressions is hilarious to watch.
Written by Swingers alums Vaughn and Favreau, plus Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas), the script has a forced premise to begin with. But let's just assume it's possible to pull six couples together for a week-long retreat without any advance notice, the execution can be summarized as "too much, yet too little." There's too much going on, but not enough time to spend on each of the six couples. In turn, the characters come off as two-dimensional, and honestly not very likable. For example, there's no reason to root for Jason and Cynthia because they have absolutely no chemistry together, and their relationship sounds more like a business partnership than a marriage. Joey and Lucy are both pigs -- they should have divorced years ago. Trudy is one of the most annoying characters I've ever seen.
The problem is, for a comedy, there just isn't a lot of laughs to go around. Amusing, yes, but not laugh out loud hilarious (except for a few scenes such as the yoga practice). Some of the scenes (such as the sharks and the single club) feel tedious and long. The ending is predictable, forced, and unconvincing. I, for one, would not believe these couples would resolve their problems so easily and quickly.
Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is in a dead-end job working as a screenwriter. The fact that he lives in a world where no one has ever lied before (the concept of "truth" doesn't even exist since, there's no alternative) makes his job (especially his obsession with the 13th century) very dull. Worse, he's about to lose that job, too, and he has no future prospect. He also has a crush on beautiful Anna (Jennifer Garner), who agrees who go on a date with him out of courtesy to their mutual friends. Anna finds Mark amiable, sweet and pleasant, but she'd never consider him as a romantic interest because of his looks. She wants someone who is a genetic match for her.
So, Mark doesn't get the girl. He does lose his job, his elderly mother is dying, and he's about to be evicted because he doesn't have the money to pay the rent. At his lowest point, he discovers he can not tell the truth, and he gets what he wants, because he is the only one on Earth who can lie. The revelation (and secret) makes him rich and famous. Even though his financial and social statuses have changed, he still can't change his genetic makeup to woo the girl. And then he discovers that lies have consequences (duh!) and he is affecting other people's lives. The weight of responsibilities and his own conscience become a burden on him.
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Jennifer Garner (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past) seems to be stuck playing the beautiful, uptight love interest, though. She has pretty much played the same role in her last few features, with the exception of Juno (her obsessed mother-wannabe character is one of the best things of the film). Here, her character just comes across as shallow and flaky and, at times, stupid. So it's difficult to completely root for her.
Jonah Hill (Funny People) is now forever typecast as the fat, unattractive loser. Where is his range? Louis C.K. (Role Models) is amusing as Mark's alcoholic, goofy best friend, but he doesn't really have much to do than being a doofus. Jeffrey Tambor (The Hangover) has a minor role as Mark's guilt-ridden boss -- his neurosis does very well for the character who is torn between doing the right thing and hurting others. Fionnula Flanagan (Yes Man) holds the true emotional core of the movie as Mark's dying mother. Rob Lowe (Brothers and Sisters) is dutiful as the handsome douche. There are many notable cameos including Tina Fey as Mark's secretary, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a bartender, and Edward Norton as a zany cop.
Written and directed by Gervais (Ghost Town) and Matthew Robinson, the script is built on an intriguing premise. And for a while it's interesting, filled with funny bits of what-ifs. The interactions between people who can only say the truth (or nothing at all) are witty. I laughed out loud a few times during the first half-hour. But once Mark tells his first lie, the plot starts to dive. I understand that the concept of untruth does not exist for these people, but are they really that gullible? Also, I think Gervais and Robinson miss a lot of opportunities to do a satire on the social, political, and cultural aspects of humanity. Sure, they briefly touch on religions and lie-based culture such as entertainment (literature, movies, advertising, etc.) and it's hilarious. But they stop short of fully exploring those. Instead, they focus on Mark's failed attempt to woo Anna. The love story drags through the whole thing and become tiring. I mean, the whole world is Mark's oyster and he is depressed and obsessed over one woman?
Also, the characters often go back and forth across the moral line. Is it okay to cheat people out of their money? But then Mark gives it back to people in need. Is it okay to try to fool someone to have sex with you? But then Mark gives us a lecture on why it's wrong. The problem is, Gervais and Robinson don't go far enough with the character: they want him to be likable, but in the process they simply neutered him.
Their direction has a "fable" feel to it, similar to Stranger than Fiction, and that works in the context of the story, which is a fable, set in an alternate universe. Still, the pacing seems off. There are many dull moments. You just can't help but say, "Well, move on already." The plot meanders a lot. The jokes don't come fast enough and like I said, there are plenty of missed opportunities.