Bright Star is excellent. Those of you who want action will be bored. Those who love period pieces with lots of close-ups, scenery and costumes along with excellent story and acting will love this.This film is about people and relationships, love and devotion. In particular, about the love between young Fanny Brawne and John Keats, the poet, in 1818. Keats died at 25. So both are very young, particularly Fanny. Movie is almost 2 hours long but it does not seem long.

Keats lives with Mr. Brown, a boorish man who essentially supports Keats. Keats being a poet, has no income and no means. And his first book of poems does not sell. But when he begins to write about Fanny, he begins to sell.

Fanny is literally the girl next door. Her widowed mother and the children (Fanny is the oldest) live in half of a small manor house. Keats and Brown live in the other. Fanny is very young and very flirtatious. She seems focused only on her dress making, of which she is very proud, and her desire to flirt with Keats. She seems shallow. Boorish Brown is the foil and the two do not like each other. Brown tries to dissuade Keats from Fanny, but Keats falls in love with Fanny anyway. In the end, Fanny is will more than redeem herself and we'll see Brown's true colors.

Acting is excellent, especially by Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw and Kerry Fox, who play Fanny, Keats and Fanny's mother (a very understanding and compassionate woman). Costumes are excellent and so is cinematography. This is what you'd expect from Jane Campion. Not as exciting a film as her famous and wonderful The Piano, but very moving. Film is a joint Australian - English production.

By the way, if somehow or other, you never saw The Piano, get it from Netflix. I rented it a few weeks ago to see it again. Well worth it. Excellent.

Do not miss this one!