Bright Star [2009] Movie Reviews on CinemaClock

Like many, I, too, did not see much on-screen chemistry between John K and Fanny B. Interesting juxtaposition: the woman was obviously a capable and creative seamstress, but the passion for her craft just did not appear on screen. Fanny's clothing/fashion sense was fantastic and forward-thinking, but you rarely got the sense that she had lovingly designed and made the garments herself, despite the two separate occasions where she was basting the pleats for a collar. The supposed passionate nature certainly did not translate to her affection for Keats. A lot of the time, she appeared to be almost cold, although she was able to cry at requisite moments. With all that said, one could not help but like the character's stick-to-it-iveness; I was just not impressed by Abby Cornish's acting abilities; I don't think that the true 'Fanny Brawne' comes though. Ben Whishaw, on the other hand, did a fantastic job of portraying John Keats! My university studies of Keats nailed down an image of him, and I was relieved and pleased to see Keats on screen as I had envisioned him: sweet and tender-hearted with a bright and creative mind/soul. Valuable elements of his biography were missing, but can be found in the short blurb about him on Wikipedia.