Apparition photo via AP Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish play star-crossed lovers in “Bright Star,” a literary historical romance that opens the Maui Film Festival’s FirstLight series of screenings in Castle Theater at the MACC.

In telling the story of the final years in the brief life of poet John Keats, ‘‘Bright Star’’ very easily could have been a stuffy, period costume drama. Instead, writer-director Jane Campion has fashioned a fascinating mix of contradictions. Her film is at once gritty and ethereal, grounded and romantic, quaint and contemporary. Those appealing contrasts extend to the casting choices, as well, with the pale, reserved Ben Whishaw playing off the vibrant, assured Abbie Cornish. One of the smartest moves Campion made was to focus on a short, pivotal period for Keats, rather than trying to construct a comprehensive (and potentially cursory) biopic. ‘‘Bright Star’’ follows the three-year relationship that began in 1818 between the writer and Fanny Brawne, his next-door neighbor in Hampstead, north London. It was a time of great productivity for him, as we’d later come to appreciate, but it’s also when he experienced his only true lov.