bright star

this film is about a short lived love affair between john keats, a famous poet, and the girl he loves. another victorian era film that is all about the love that is not allowed by society. the girl, played by abbie cornish, is not allowed to marry keats because he does not have any money. that doesnt stop her from continuing her correspondence with him through intimate letters. from time to time he is able to visit her and they share what time they can together. also in the story we see keats writing friend, played by paul schnieder (who has been a favorite of mine since first seeing him in 'the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford'). he is pretty much a big jerk in this movie, even forcing himself upon the family servant and getting her pregnant. this, as is so often the case in these victorian movies, is a romance that blossoms quickly, but is destined to end sadly. the film itself is pretty good with all the leads doing a great job with the story. cornish makes the whole thing very believable as she falls for this hopeless case. even though schneider plays a cad, i still wanted to love the character because of the great presence he brings.