Sweetie

One's bond with their family is frequently a tumultuous one. Sometimes they get along with all their family members but one, sometimes the inverse. In short, it's rare to see a consistently healthy family dynamic.

Jane Campion's Sweetie is no exception. Focusing on the everyday life of a meek woman, it follows Kay (Karen Colston) as she deals with her insecurities and her mentally unstable sister Dawn (Genevieve Lemon). What is in store for these two women?

Much like Campion's later films, Sweetie focuses on how women are more complex than originally thought. Both Kay and Dawn as well as their mother aren't the perfect women the men in their lives think they are. Rule of thumb, male writers: women are just as layered as men.)

It isn't made entirely clear what precisely Dawn is inflicted with. Sometimes she displays erratic behavior often found in untreated bipolar disorder. Another scene has her devastated at being abandoned, a symptom of borderline personality disorder. Regardless of diagnosis, it's still interesting to see how Dawn ticks.

Though not as strong as some of her later works, Sweetie does show the potential bubbling within Campion. As she would do with The Piano four years later, she shows that women are more than the paper-thin depictions Hollywood usually churned out at the time. (It also shows how little progress has been made since its release.)

My Rating: ****

Bright Star

When it comes to relationships, communication is key. It's all about what to say and when to say it.

Communication is also the driving force for the romance between John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) in Jane Campion's Bright Star. (A stark contrast to the complete lack of communication in her earlier film The Piano.) Keats, of course, is one of the most famous poets in history, so a way with words is practically natural to him.

Prior to watching Bright Star, I was already fairly familiar with Keats' work. ("Ode to a Nightingale" is my personal favorite.) Thanks to the film, admirers of the poet can get a glimpse as to whom Keats was, and that was of a man devoted to the people he knew and loved.

The two stars of Bright Star are fantastic. Whishaw, whom I recently gotten acquainted with thanks to The Hour, displays a quiet sadness as Keats. Cornish does the same as Brawne but an air of curiosity and understanding as well. In short, two performances I'm sad to see not get any recognition, public or awards.

Bright Star is a very lovely film. Along with Whishaw and Cornish's performances and Campion's direction, the cinematography by Greig Fraser is gorgeous. (Fuck you, AMPAS, for both not nominating Bright Star and then proceed to give the award to Avatar.) I also love the many colorful dresses Cornish wears throughout the film. Oh, and the final scene is solid testimony as to why Bright Star is a film that should be seen by everyone.

My Rating: *****

The Piano

Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter), the protagonist of Jane Campion's The Piano, is a very compelling person to watch. She's a mute yet her expressions speak volumes. She's one of these people that has you wondering what makes her tick.

She doesn't express any negative feelings towards her arranged marriage to frontiersman Alistair Stewart (Sam Neill) nor towards the lack of affection within the relationship. (She does show a bit of resentment towards Alistair however.) Yet you wonder if there's even any hope for them.

Ada's daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) serves as a sort of translator for those around them. (It seems fitting since she can't shut up.) But even with this form of communication, the ties between Ada and Alistair only fray further. They simply don't know how to express themselves to each other.

Baines (Harvey Keitel) gives Ada the attention she never knew she wanted and Alistair the anger he never knew he had in him. Pay attention to the two scenes of intimacy between Baines and Ada. She is very reluctant at first, but she's very enthusiastic the second time. (It's also during the second encounter where Alistair realizes what his own wife is capable of.)

The Piano is a film where the many unfolding mysteries are not a bother but rather a blessing, especially to those who like that added detail. Hunter, Neill and Keitel are responsible for this very sordid tale, and they act it out wonderfully. And Campion has become a person of interest in my book.

My Rating: *****