Upon Second Viewing....

Have we talked before about how I like that movie "Bright Star"? Yes, it looks like we have.

I got this movie, a fact-based fantasy about the relationship between the poet John Keats and his love interest Fanny Brawne, for Christmas and I watched it again last night.

Here is what I realized watching it the second time around:

• The character of Fanny is somehow likable even though she is presented as rather shallow and not all that intelligent. She's headstrong, impulsive and wears her heart on her sleeve -- all of which is in stark contrast to Keats, who hems, haws and hesitates to the point where he, as a character, doesn't move me much. That description may not make their relationship sound like the world's most unique dynamic, but to me it feels realistic and engaging and it shows how two dissimilar people can grow into each other and become something better than the sum of their parts.
• I realized I like the first 2/3 of this movie the best. Once Keats starts dying (and I shouldn't be giving anything away by saying that, I hope), it drags a little and starts inching into hackneyed territory.
• I really like the way director Jane Campion focuses on secondary characters, show us vignettes with little or no dialogue and gives us snippets of scenes meant only to set mood and tone. It's different from the "first this, then that" pace I am used to.
• This movie is only 119 minutes, but it is so...unhurried it feels like five hours, making it an enjoyable way to kill a cold and slow-moving winter evening but a bad choice if you're in the mood for pulse-pounding action.
• Visuals. The visuals are so beautiful.