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Everyone knows that love is a rainbow of many colors. Parental love, the love of friends, the love of siblings and of course the love of lovers. Two movies out right now, "The Boys Are Back" and "Bright Star" honor love's vibrant hues in very distinct ways.
"Bright Star," directed by Jane Campion and starring Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, is about the brief, yet passionate love affair between the poet John Keats and his neighbor Fanny Brawne. Keats was talented, yet poverty stricken and though deeply in love with Fanny was unable to marry her. Fanny was a student of fashion, but once enraptured by Keats' allure, became a student of poetry as well.
The movie takes its time and like Keats' writing process, isn't to be rushed. But be warned, if you like your costume dramas with ripping bodices and rumpled bedclothes, this isn't the movie for you. This movie plays out like one of Keats' poems: leisurely, lyrical and exulting in the joy of words. The lovemaking is verbal, but no less intense.
Ben Shishaw brings a low key charm to the role of the John Keats while Abbie Cornish is fine as the enamoured Fanny.
After seeing the movie, I was inspired to read some of Keats' love letters to Fanny and they're exquisite. Here's a sample:
My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you - I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again - my Life seems to stop there - I see no further. You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving - I should be exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you. I should be afraid to separate myself far from you. My sweet Fanny, will your heart never change? My love, will it? I have no limit now to my love.
"The Boys Are Back" is a more conventional film. It's based on the memoir by Simon Carr, who lost his wife to cancer and found himself raising two boys on his own. Clive Owen stars as Joe Warr, a British sportwriter living in Australia whose life is upended by the death of his wife, Katy. Left to raise his 5 year-old son Artie, Warr then takes custody of Harry, his bitter teenage son from a previous marriage.
But Warr isn't perfect. After all, it's revealed he left his first wife and Harry, when his then mistress, Katy got pregnant. He eventually married her and moved to Australia. After Katy's death, he not only has to deal with Harry's reappearance in his life, he has to deal with his resentment as well.
As Warr tries to build a life for himself and his boys, he eschews discipline for a laissez-faire style of parenting that would be disastrous in most families. Warr finds that out the hard way but soldiers on nonetheless.
The movie is beautifully shot and elevated by the reliable skills of Clive Owen. Owen, a man's man in action films like, "King Arthur" and "The Bourne Identity," is just as capable, and in fact excels, in smaller, more emotional films like this one. His portrayal of Warr is painfully authentic.
Which brings us back to love. A man's love for his kids. A son's love for his father. A love that means commitment to family, no matter the obstacles.
Related Links:
Nanny Goats In Panties: "The Boys Are Back."
Drugstore Cowgirls: "The Boys Are Back."
Jane Campion Shines A "Bright Star."
Feminist Review: "Bright Star."
Girls Can Play: "Bright Star."
Inside A Black Apple: "Bright Star."
Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video. Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews
