The first reviews of Bright Star are in! Variety calls Abbie’s performance outstanding, which is quite a compliment in my book!

With brown hair pulled tightly back and a tad more filled out than before, Cornish is made to look more plain than she actually is, which better emphasizes the importance of Fanny’s character for Keats. The majority of her performance’s success rests in her eyes, which are remarked upon by Brown for their amber hue and which, one senses, see and process so much. All of Campion’s films center upon strong, complicated women, and Cornish’s Fanny takes her place among the most memorable of them.

Source: Variety

Australian actress Abbie Cornish, in a career-defining role, shoulders the story’s dramatic burden. Her Fanny Brawne, grounded and forthright, is initially more interested in sewing than poetry – by Keats or anyone else. But gradually she becomes enthralled by him.

Source: Telegraph

Abbie Cornish is magnetic as the headstrong 18-year-old muse who shyly teases Keats about the quality of his verse. There’s a dash of Nicole Kidman about her performance, and the way she can never quite hide the emotions raging behind her eyes.

Source: The Times