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Bright Star | 2009 | PG | - 3.2.2

In 1818 23-year-old English poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), meets a fashion student (Abbie Cornish) and although they seem very different -- he misunderstands high fashion, while she does not grasp the literary arts -- they fall deeply, almost obsessively in love. However, illness and a possessive benefactor (Paul Schneider) interfere. Also with Olle Alexander, Thomas Sangster, Kerry Fox and Samuel Barnett. Directed by Jane Campion. [1:59]

SEX/NUDITY 3 - A man and a woman embrace and kiss briefly in several scenes.
 A man and a woman talk in his bedroom and she says she will do anything before he leaves (sex is implied); he declines the invitation, they sit next to each other on a bed, lie down, talk while holding hands, and he says he will return in the Spring and kiss her breasts and she replies "Everything."
 A woman kisses all four corners of a letter to her fiancé as his voiceover asks her to do so, so that he can kiss the same corners and pretend he is kissing her. A man asks another man about his girlfriend: "Why don't you just bed her; she'd do anything you wish?" and the second man just laughs and says "No." A man accused of impregnating a woman says he is not the father but will pay support for the child. An angry woman slams pots and pans on a counter in a kitchen, and shouts to her employer that the next-door neighbor has made her pregnant and is a horrible person for denying it. A man tells a maid that she is a "good Irish" (good for a sex object is implied). A man slams a man against a tree and demands to know if the man and a woman are lovers. A woman smiles and asks a man she has recently met, "I wonder if you are sleeping in my bed" (he is living in the summer rental that she lived in previously).
 Several evening party and dinner scenes show women in lower cut gowns that reveal moderate cleavage. Several scenes feature women in dresses that reveal a slight amount of cleavage.

VIOLENCE/GORE 2 - A man verbally assaults another man and then slams him against a tree as a woman watches and the man demands to know if the man and the woman are lovers.
 We see a coverlet in a kitchen sink covered with blood and we hear that a sick man has coughed up blood. A young man is shown very ill writhing in fever and agony. A sick man is found lying under a bush coughing. A man and a woman walk down an alley where people live in filth, they enter a dark apartment, and the man sits at a table, coughing as the scene ends.
 A woman is found with a broken jar and a shallow cut on her wrist and she cries, "I wish I was dead." A man verbally insults a woman several times, and in one scene he attempts to pinch her and she slaps away his hand.
 A woman tells another woman that a young man has died; they are joined by a third woman and all three cry. A man announces that another man has died; a woman rushes from the room, cries, collapses in a hallway and says she cannot breathe.
 A young girl enters a kitchen and tells her mother that her adult sister "Wants a knife so that she can kill herself." A man yells at a woman loudly. A woman loudly scolds two young boys. A man and a woman argue briefly several times. A doctor tells a man that he will not survive another winter in England and the man says that he might not recover at all.
 We see a coffin being carried. Children play soccer and the ball hits the back of a man's head; he turns and walks away, unharmed.

LANGUAGE 2 - 1 anatomical reference, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (idiot, dandies, carcass, sham, dull "good Irish"), stereotypical comments about women, non-writers, fashion designers, poor people, unwed mothers and the Irish, 8 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man takes a sip of wine from a glass, a decanter of brandy sits next to a man on a table in two scenes, several people hold wine glasses at a party, another party scene shows a man holding a glass of wine, and at two dinners we see wine glasses on the table and several glasses are nearly empty (no one is shown drinking from them). A man smokes a cigar, and a man places a pipe in his mouth.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Regency England, poetry, family, relationships, love, marriage, children, lack of money, class differences, illness, death, grief, literary arts, fashion, friendship, loyalty, duty.

MESSAGE - Circumstances can overwhelm the deepest love.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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