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 love.
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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.
Fanny, a flirty and style-obsessed 18-year-old, may not seem like an ideal fit for the 23-year-old Keats at first - and his collaborator Charles Brown, played by a brash and scene-stealing Paul Schneider, does his best to exert his territoriality and keep them apart. As Fanny states in her typically blunt way after reading Keats' work for the first time, ''I wanted to adore it.'' But in time they become fascinated by the foreignness of each other, until they eventually become inseparable.
Physically, they never progress beyond hand-holding and a few chaste kisses, but the charge those acts carry is palpable. Like the dreamy white light that streams in from the windows of Fanny's country home, the emotion of ''Bright Star'' bursts through the stillness and grabs you.
It's a gorgeous, sensual film (shot by cinematographer Greig Fraser), with pastoral touches reminiscent of Terrence Malick - and similar to his work, it might actually be too quiet at times. Lying in a field of purple flowers or strolling through the woods conveys a sense of impressionistic melancholy. Back to reality, Keats and Fanny press their palms and ears to the wall that separates their bedrooms, just to feel near each other.
Fact Box
* "Bright Star" stars Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox and Edie Martin. Jane Campion directs. Rated PG for thematic elements, some sensuality, brief language and incidental smoking, its running time is 1:59. It shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater as part of the Maui Film Festival's FirstLight screenings.
Of course, they can never marry. This is one of the more obvious elements of ''Bright Star.'' Fanny, who designs clothes and lives at home with her widowed mother (Kerry Fox), younger brother Samuel (Thomas Brodie Sangster) and younger sister Toots (the adorable Edie Martin), must wind up with a man who's more financially established, not a penniless poet. And so we know their love is doomed, long before Keats lets loose his first hacking coughs of the tuberculosis that will claim him at 25.
Campion depicts all this from Fanny's perspective. Keats' words - from some of his best-known poems, including ''Endymion,'' ''Ode to a Nightingale'' and the titular, Fanny-inspired ''Bright Star'' - crop up organically throughout the picture, rather than arriving in big, stagy recitations. But the ache of young love is all hers, and as our guide, Cornish provides a compelling directness.
They've frumped her up a bit here from the blonde good looks she's exuded in previous films like ''Stop-Loss'' and even ''Candy,'' in which she played a junkie opposite Heath Ledger. But the innocence and intensity of her character's love for Keats shines through and makes ''Bright Star'' surprisingly accessible.
*****
Also at FirstLight:
Now in its 11th year, the Maui Film Festival's FirstLight showcases the year's best movies -those likely to be in contention for Academy Awards, Golden Globes and other end-of-year prizes.
The screenings take place in Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Admission is free for Oscar voters and children 12 and younger for G and PG films. Tickets for everyone else are available from the MACC box office. More information is available at www.mauifilmfestival.com.
The Thanksgiving week schedule of screenings is as follows:
*****
Friday:
5 p.m. -"The Cove," a documentary about trying to save dolphins in Japan.
7:30 p.m. - "Bright Star"
*****
Tuesday:
5 p.m. - "The Road," starring Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smith-McPhee and Charlize Theron.
7:30 p.m. - "Precious," starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'nique, Paula Patton and Mariah Carey, based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire.
*****
Wednesday:
2 p.m. - "The Messenger," starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Jena Malone.
5 p.m. - "Trucker," starring Michelle Monaghan as an independent woman trucker.
7:30 p.m. - "Everybody's Fine," starring Robert DeNiro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore and Sam Rockwell.
