Bright Star. The Most Poetic Film of Its Decade?

I first saw Bright Star in cinemas when it came out in late-2009, it was when I came home from University for the first time, so I was probably unable to appreciate the deep undercurrents, and meditative, poetic tone. Furthermore, I hadn't then studied Keats! But this all changed by the time I rewatched it last night, and I must exclaim, that I feel it's one of the most romantic, passionate, lyrical films of our times.

Jane Campion's film (the lady behind The Piano) charts the relationship between fashion designer Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) and the poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), and their whirlwind romance which was slow to bloom and suddenly died, complete with full on attempted cockblocking from John Schneider's fine portrait of Keats's best friend Mr. Brown (John Schneider).

What Campion does so brilliantly is to marry the spirit of Keats's poetry to the aesthetic of the film. The obvious examples would be when the characters blend into nature itself, connecting the human and the natural in an obvious, simple, effective way. There's a scene in which Keats lies on the top of a tree, or when Fanny reads a letter in a field of violets. In each case, the scene marries the intimate, nature of their romance with nature itself, marrying the artist of Keats and the personal romance plot. Furthermore, the costumes are always luminous, informing us  of character's deeper concerns. It isn't just Keats's poetry which is a focus, but Brawne's distinctive fashion designs. People who feel that period costume designs are all ostentatious, and a little pretentious, they should take note of how effective they are used throughout this film.

It is also a really sensual film, it begins with a close-up of Fanny stitching, and we somehow intuitively feel before we know the fact that it is a pair of hands stitching, just as Campion did at the beginning of The Piano. This sets the intimate tone which is sustained throughout the film, and the intimate moments between Fanny and Keats thus become a bit more personal, something understandable. Keats and Fanny share rooms nextdoor occasionally in the film, and there's one sequence in which they both place their hands on the wall, as we feel how anxious they are for each other's touch. It's truly heartbreaking, and we feel as anxious as they do for each other's touch.

I could talk about Campion's sublime filmmaking all day (which I've never been a fan of, I will try and revisit some after this), but the performances are particularly astonishing. On first viewing, I wasn't a fan of Schneider, but here I found him fully believable, a man we detest, but in the end I somehow felt for him.Whishaw gives a dedicated performance as Keats, but it is Cornish who steals the show. She captures the longing, the heartbreak, and the passion of Fanny so convincingly. And at the end when she finally breaks down, you cannot help but cry with her.

Finally, it is the way all this combines to create a magical whole, as Bright Star is more the sum of its tremendous parts. The poetic filmmaking style perfectly suits the subject and nature of the story. The rapturous, passionate romance may be hard for some to believe, but it just rings so true. A scene such as when Fanny believes she could die when she does not receive a letter after Keats has left to travel for work may seem hyperbolic to some, or utterly passionate to others. In the end, it's possibly the most romatic, poetic film of the 2000's next to Brokeback Mountain and In the Mood For Love.

Mercury Prize Nominees.

Well, that was more predictable than usual (complete with some unpredictable surprise omissions, and the 2 artists nobody's ever heard of) I'll give the rundown of the stuff I have listened to:

Anna Calvi, Anna Calvi- She's alright. Goes for the whole atmospheric, eccentric 'indie-girl', but she sometimes shrieks too much for me, strives for atmosphere but never quite pulls it off. A nice attempt, something I should love, but it just misses the mark for me.

Build a Rocket Boys!, Elbow - Again, quite underwhelming. Given their previous album, this is a definite disappointment, but will always be in with a shout for the coffee-table, Radio 2 crowd. It does have some beautiful moments though, not totally undeserved of a place.

James Blake, James Blake - A very lovely album. an experiemental-pop crossover which has some extraordinary, beautiful moments. It's both miminal and exciting, soulful and modern. A really interesting album to love. Could win it.

On a Mission, Katy B - Quite similar to Blake in that I really, really like her. She's created some of my favourite dancefloor filler of the past few years, she's both mainstream and artistic. not given the album enough spins, but I'm glad she's on the list.

The English Riviera, Metronomy - One of my favourite albums of this year by a long way. A wonderfully minimal, simple sound but at it's heart it's a cracker. It all sounds so simple, but it's a completely passionate love letter to a place and a time. It's perfect for the British Summer, and it really is a grower, think of it as The XX for the daytime.

Let England Shake, PJ Harvey - This is something else, a true piece of art. It's not even pretentious or overly ostentatious, it's full of little jokes, quirks. Musically, it's exceptional, lyrically it's better than Tennyson. It doesn't really belong on this list, rather on the Turner Prize. It's so passionate, so beautiful. She will be the first person to win this prize twice, no doubt. One of our best singer/songwriters out there by a mile with a rich body of work. Read my review of the album. And if it wins I get £80 thanks to an early bet.

Good Days at Scholls Emau, Gwilym Simcock - No idea what this is. Someone tells me it's the jazz entry. I don't really like pianists, I find them a little dated. I want Led Bib!

Disc-Overy, Tinie Tempah - Meh. Never listened to the album, but his songs are all the superlative of its genre, his lyrics are amusing (intentionally? who knows?) and the production on the songs I've listened to is pretty great. Too bad it's shit and really not up my street.

Man Alive, Everything Everything - Pfffft! A bad Wild Beasts imitation. (Where were the actual thing?!) A shit attempt at indie art-pop. It goes for quirky but is extremely grating. Probably my least favourite on here, it's ambitious, but ultimately an infuriating listen.

Peanut Butter Blues and Strawberry Jam, Ghostpoet - Meh, it's pretty good but nothing to warrant being on here imo. Just decent, late night listening. Nice and atmospheric, interesting ideas, but none of it really does much for me personally. Quirky title, could be the 'surprise winner'.

21, Adele - Very predictable. Yeah she has a nice voice, and sings 'powerful' songs, and she's clearly struck a chord with the public. But a bit too waily for me, and her songwriting is really dull. She needs to move on from boring unrequited love subject matter. Still, even I'd say it's decent. Not gonna win though.

Diamond Mine, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - Never heard of it. sounds nice from the clip they played, I usually love the folky one I've never heard of, this was a surprising entrant in that category though.


The Ommisions.

No The Horrors?! Good. Instead of ripping off 1980s shoegaze, they've gone onto early 90's Britpop such as Suede. It sounds alright but they just need more interesting ideas.

Lack of Radiohead?! Silly mistake. A truly modern, thoughtful record. If it isn't as groundbreaking as Kid A or OK Computer, that's only 'cos they're up there with Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds. easily one of the best albums of the year

Wild Beasts were one of the favourites to win it. Even if I'm the only one who doesn't like it quite as much as their other two, it's still one of the best of the year. And no idea how Everything Everything got on instead of it. Ridiculous shout.

Jamie XX - Better than Katy B or James Blake for me. Plus Gil Scott's just died. Sad times! The lack of Emmy the Great and Guillemots is as disappointing as it is predictable. And a shout out for This Is the Kit, who probably didn't have the money to go for it.

So I thought the Mercurys would be a good time to start this again...

I will do some predictions and then offer some thoughts when the list comes out. I always like this award (as I do award ceremonies in general) though I've no idea why. It's obviously not there to represent my taste, so I'm never in love with the nominees, but it does create some healthy discussion about British music, it usually introduces me to one or two artists a year, and when people start 'predicting' albums, there's usually about 5 I start listening to a lot which I'd never have known about before. Maybe that will happen here for you!

Anyway, here are my predictions, though it's not to say I love the following:

Adele - 21
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Wild Beasts - Smother
James Blake - James Blake
Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
Metronomy - The English Riviera
SBTRKT - SBTRKT
The Horrors - Skying
Jamie XX - We're New Here
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Token Jazz (Led Bib? Kit Downes Trio?)
Token Folk (The Unthanks? Bellowhead?)

I definitely think Katy B will be on there, but I don't know who to get rid of. It's while looking at these predictions when you realise how strong music is at the moment in Britain, contrary to a conversation at the pub the other day.

A few other alternates: Arctic Monkeys (an old favourite), Mount Kimbie (maybe instead of SBTRKT), Wiley (As rap has been ignored on my list), Cornershop (the surprise nomination?), Elbow (an old favourite), Tinie Tempah (another pop favourite). Obviously a few more out there. I'm really hoping Emmy the Great or Guillemots sneak on there.

You can note there's quite an electronic feel to my predictions, but that's definitely the way music is going at the moment. Even the indie nominees, Radiohead and Wild Beasts, seem to be embracing electronic music more than guitars at the moment. There we go, will blog angrily later, and will leave you with a song from Cornershop:

Gonna start this up again.

Probably using a different format than 'song of the day' to allow me to write when I want so it doesn't feel like a pressure, and then hopefully have something more pleasurable to write and to read. I'm gonna start talking about movies, too, probably with a weekly film round-up or a 'film of the week' feature. Similarly, when I talk about music, it will be specifically about a song, an album, an artist, or a more general round up of what I've been listening to. I know a few people who read this blog last time round who liked it, and hopefully you'll enjoy it again!