The last years of John Keats’ short but enigmatic life are beautifully re-created in Bright Star, so named after one of his many great poems. This is a period drama where any romance goes hand-in-hand with mortality.

Keats is only just beginning to receive the recognition that would reach a gigantic size after his lifetime, when the film begins in 1818. Interested more in fashion and the material world than in books, his neighbour Fanny Brawne is less than impressed with his literary efforts. When, however, she discovers that he must simultaneously nurse his fatally ill younger brother, Fanny starts to see him in a different light. A love affair begins that shocks and appals family and friends – but if there’s any threat to their bond, it’ll come from another source altogether.

Jane Campion (The Piano) is no stranger to awards and critical acclaim, and her latest directorial effort received a correspondingly huge amount of praise at Cannes last year. Ben Whishaw (Perfume) has in recent years excelled when playing intriguing characters from times very different to our own, and his work here, meticulously researched and methodically perfected, certainly pays off. His chemistry with Abbie Cornish makes this historical film a pleasure for the timelessness of the love it re-imagines.