Sometimes its hard to get good people into good movies. “Bright Star” sometimes feels like that movie. The 18th century Jane Campion romance picture was easily the best thing we saw at the Cannes Film Festival this year — it’s wonderful, evocative, gorgeously and meticulously crafted; Campion workin’ on all four cylinders — but we noticed some slight resistance to its greatness from some critics we know and respect — Jeff Wells we’re looking in your direction (not that he’s bad-mouthed it, but maybe he’s just not as on-board as we woulda hoped). It also features a sure-fire Academy Award performance by its lead Abbie Cornish (burn down the Oscars if a nomination doesn’t happen) and superb supporting performances by Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox and Paul Schneider, who is so fucking good. In a perfect world, the former David Gordon Green, indie-actor would receive a Best Supporting nomination (and let’s not even talk costume, art direction, cinematography, etc. Shoo-in nominations, seriously.)
Masterpiece theater, tea-cup dainty period-piece cinema? Hell no. One of our favorite personal Cannes anecdotes is the fact that Quentin Tarantino himself sat about four seats down from us during a public screening and you could hear his riotous laughter throughout (yes, it’s quite devilishly arch and funny too). Clearly he was enjoying himself, something he reiterated when asked by the L.A. Weekly what some of the better films he’s seen this year were.
“I was a big fan of Jane Campion’s Bright Star, I think it’s her best movie. I got caught up in the seriousness of the poetry, and I don’t mind the chaste stuff,” he told the Weekly.
So there, if you don’t believe us. Believe your beloved Quentin. It’s that good and yes, it transcends the dainty tea-cup ghetto or where ever you’d like to shortsightedly place it. It’s essentially about the secret love affair between English poet, John Keats (Whishaw), and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Cornish), an outspoken and brassy student of fashion. Their unlikely friendship and then budding romance is then threatened by a insurmountable illness that befalls Keats. It’s vibrant, dazzling and feels like an extra dose of oxygen. It’s a very alive picture and brimming with emotional honesty. Yes, it’s romantic, but it’s much more than that. It’s like the woozy rush of blood that arrives to your head when you’ve fallen head-over-heels in love. Certainly Campion’s best work since “The Piano.”
Here’s something else. We totally forgot — amidst the daily hubub — to post the trailer for the film which broke a few short weeks ago and apparently suffered from a bad narrator (which is unfortunately true). But that in no way should dissuade you. The film hits theaters via Apparition on September 18 and will make its North American debut during the Toronto Film Festival. If you don’t want to listen to us, then listen to Quentin.