Bright StarMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Bright Star."

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Avg. Critic Score: 81 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    A fine-boned, luminous tribute to Keats and the sufferings of love. Read full review

  • 100
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Masterfully put-together, made with confidence, intelligence and command. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Campion's big-sisterly encouragement of Cornish's lovely, openhearted performance -- and Whishaw's well-matched response -- results in a character instantly, intimately recognizable to anyone remembering her own first love. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Breaking through any period-piece mustiness with piercing insight into the emotions and behavior of her characters, the writer-director examines the final years in the short life of 19th-century romantic poet John Keats through the eyes of his beloved, Fanny Brawne, played by Abbie Cornish in an outstanding performance. Read full review

  • 90
    The Hollywood Reporter | Ray Bennett

    Bright Star may not be a joy forever but it will do until the next joy comes along. Read full review

  • 90
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    Ms. Campion, with her restless camera movements and off-center close-ups, films history in the present tense, and her wild vitality makes this movie romantic in every possible sense of the word. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    What Campion does is seek visual beauty to match Keats' verbal beauty. There is a shot here of Fanny in a meadow of blue flowers that is so enthralling it beggars description. Read full review

  • 80
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    That rare, genuinely transporting movie that creates an alternate universe, invites the audience in and lets them sink ever deeper into its particular, sublime reverie. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Bright Star is the New Zealand writer-director's raw, sensual attempt to render Keats as experienced by a young girl who couldn't understand the genius of his verse. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    What the film does best is remind us of the brilliance of Keats flame and how it was extinguished far too early. Read full review

View more reviews for Bright Star on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Romantic, moving film unlikely to interest tweens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this moving period romance is tame on the surface -- there's virtually no violence, sex, strong language or other iffy content -- but it has an undercurrent of sexual longing fueled by social barriers that complicate the characters' ability to be with the people they love. And though the story is told with a great deal of grace, it does have a bit of grit (but virtually no violence, sex, strong language, or other iffy content). First, there's the consumption that finally claims poet John Keats -- its progression is delicately but truthfully depicted. Also, Keats' best friend is dismissive of those with no interest in poetry (i.e., Fanny, who's passionate about sewing instead), and there's some discussion about Fanny's virginity, but the conversations are oblique (and nothing more than kissing and hand-holding is shown on screen).
  • Families can talk about John and Fanny's relationship. Why do so many characters seem to think that they don't belong together? What were the stakes for young lovers at that time, especially for women? How did those stakes vary by social class?
  • Why do you think Keats doesn't press Fanny for a physical relationship? Was society's view of sex different in their time?
  • Does it seem like poetry was more appreciated during Keats' than it is now? If yes, why? Who are the famous poets' modern-day counterparts?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: The film celebrates young love and devotion, as well as passion -- for something or someone (in this case, Keats' for poetry, Fanny's for fashion, and both characters for each other). Keats' friends are very supportive of him, as is Fanny's family of her. There's some class tension -- the film doesn't shy away from the double standard that prevents Fanny from marrying Keats but allows an upper-class man to dally with a maid with no consequences.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Keats is the epitome of a gentleman. His love for Fanny is genuine, as is hers for him. Fanny is also quite devoted to her family, and their acceptance of Fanny's love for Keats is very empathetic. On the downside, Keats' friend Brown is derisive of Fanny, and dismisses her as a fashionista rather than an intellectual -- as if the two were mutually exclusive -- and is cavalier in the way he treats people of other classes.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Two men have an argument, with one goading the other to fight out of anger. Some shoving. A main character eventually dies, though from illness, rather than violence.
  • sex false2 Sex: A fair amount of flirting, hand-holding, and gentle kissing -- plus one sonnet-reading scene that has a very passionate, sensuous feel. One character pursues a maid and gets her pregnant (though they aren't seen together in bed).
  • language false1 Language: "Idiot" is firmly in the lexicon. "Damn" is also used.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false1 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink and smoke socially on a few occasions. The smoking is accurate for the movie's time period.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.5

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Dead poet society. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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