Friday, June 11, 2010

"puff, smoke, dissolve"

Charles Brown: What have I done to you?
Fanny Brawne:
You do nothing to me...or for me. And that's how I'd prefer to keep it.
Charles: What?
Fanny: Your offense is to my fashion, Mr. Brown. To which I'm so helplessly slavish.
Charles: I have been ill quoted.
Fanny: "Her obsession with flounce and cross stitch"...?
Charles: Cross stitch. Miss Brawne, I don't even know what that means.
Fanny: I feel the same way about your poems Mr. Brown. I know nothing of what they mean. They puff, smoke, dissolve... leaving nothing but irritation.

[Great moments in screen bitchery #931]

Abbie Cornish (seamstress)
and Paul Schneider (poet) butt heads in Bright Star (2009). And this is their first exchange! They'll be at each other's throats for the next 2 hours. [Bright Star, so horrifically snubbed in Oscar World, won 3 gold and 4 bronze medals at this site's 10th annual awards ceremony.]

15 comments:

Alison Flynn said...

I loved this movie. It was so artistic in every way.

And Cornish was really something else. A terrible snub by AMPAS.

Morgan Leigh Davies said...

God, I love that scene. She is so magnificent.

My favorite movie of the year, for sure.

Volvagia said...

I'm not a romantic at heart. Only one film romance has actually made me full on melt: A Matter of Life and Death. Apart from that, films focused on it interest me, but the ones I think work have varying degrees of cynicism about the romantic process (not designed to melt hearts.) Marty, Three Colours: Red, Being John Malkovich. These get me on their side. What doesn't: Things like Pretty Woman, Wedding Crashers and The 40 Year Old Virgin, that assume both love and lust are needed for a workable and long lasting relationship. Just once someone make a film about a relationship like that.

Kurtis O said...

I was so pleased to see this incredibly beautiful film so well represented in your awards, after being so disheartened by its inexcusable awards season shutout. The nearly universal snubbing of Cornish's stellar work particularly stung, but perhaps more perplexing is the dismissal of the art direction and cinematography. The scene in which Fanny sits on her bed and lets the breeze wash over her is basically how I experienced this entire film. Just gorgeous.

Andrew K. said...

Lovely choice of scene. One of the reasons I love Abbie so much here is because she knows how striking Campion's words are and she doesn't overdo the bitchiness (for want of another word). I love two moments immediatley after in particular. When she tells him:
"It's my finding in the business of disturbing you're the expert" which she immediately follows with the line - "I'm praising him" and of course the "my stitching has more merit and admirers than your two scribblings put together." She has such a way with line delivery.

Good god, this movie is aging particularly well.

ShoNuff Lives said...

abby cornish, who knew? even moreso, paul schneider? wow, just some great performances

notanotherblog said...

You missed the obvious but best line. "And I can make money off it." BURN!

Abbie's turning herself into Connie Nielsen but somebody. Harvey. Give this woman an Oscar winning movie.

Rebecca said...

I love their relationship in this movie, especially the scene towards the end 'I failed John Keats.'

cal roth said...

You should post some man bitchery. Jane Campion remind me one of the bitchiest bitches I've ever seen: John Malkovich in Portrait of a Lady.

stella said...

notanotherblog - i immediately thought of that when i saw this post. i just love the way she says that. Just an ever slight, emphasis on "money".

Marshall1 said...

Bright Star is my favourite film from last year and I only managed to watch it through dvd. It made me cried so much:(
lol
It's one of the most intimate, touching, romantic movie. Thank you for recognizing it. If romantic-comedies nowadays are made with this kind of sohpistication and taste, there will be more people believing in love.....:)

MRRIPLEY said...

I must say i don't get the fuss for the film as such and especially a never once convincing period perforamcne by cornish,she is fine but she seemed so modern to me make up hair colour,something was off.

schneider was wonderful and it would 've been nice for the academy not to be lazy and look beyond flat unsinpired work by damon,hammy ott thinking on the job performances like tucci or career capping first time noms for unworthy lead thesping that did not win anyway.

my 2009 supporting gactor

waltz - inglourious basterds
capaldi - in the loop
schneider - bright star
molina - an education
sheperd - brothers

Burning Reels said...

Should have been nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume (least they got that right), Score.

Cornish would just about squeeze out Swinton for number one (but i'd like to rewatch Julia) and Bright Star is number two or three on my top ten films of '09.

I did enjoy Schneider but found his performance a little distracting at times.

Guy said...

MRRIPLEY: It may not have worked for you, but the modernity of Cornish's performance was kind of the point.

mrripley said...

err so she is supposed to keep me thinking she is gonna wip off that corset and run down the beach in a bikini.