Bright+Star

Lucy Guo - Director's Project Analysis #2

1. What is the plot (what does the character want)? This film is about the last years of John Keats, and his relationship with Fanny Brawne. Keats is attracted to Fanny, but he's reluctant to explore his requited feelings for her because he doesn't think he has enough wealth and he isn't famous. The character wants money and fame, in order to impress her.
 * Bright Star**

2. What is the theme (what does the character need)? Keats needs to realize that money really isn't important and you shouldn't put it over love, but Keats moves away from Fanny in order to try to get more money, which in turn, hurts Fanny more.

3.Choose a scene that best exemplifies the theme. Identify and explain how 5 elements within the scene (mise-en-scene, editing, sound, cinematography, lighting) create meaning in reference to that theme. (starts 39:30) In this scene, Brown sends Fanny a valentine's card as a 'jest' and Keats finds out about it. The pouring rain and thunder at the start sets the whole scene - it's a rainy day, and it's foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen. The cinematography focuses a lot on Keats' expressions, and how he's trying to deal with this, as he starts ranting about his money troubles in relation to Fanny and his relationship. When the shot focuses on Brown and Fanny, it's relatively stable, but when the scene focuses on Keats, the camera starts shaking and moving around quite a lot, reflecting Keats' undecided emotions. Apart from the characters' voices and natural nature sounds, there was no music in the background in the beginning, which makes you pay a lot of attention on what the characters are saying. The lighting throughout this whole scene is dark, dull, and very colorless, other than the pink dress that Fanny's wearing. Contrasted against everything else dark in the scene, Fanny seems like the only real pure thing in the whole shot. Towards the end of the scene (the resolution), a melancholy violin tune fades in, as the crisis resolves and Fanny goes away disappointed, as Keats doesn't have enough faith in her. This scene is the most important to the theme because this is a prime example of Keats' crisis with Fanny, and how he thinks different aspects of his life (especially his friend, Brown) are stopping them from being together.