Slowburn Romance: Bridgerton/Sanditon/Bright Star
My favorite costume dramas of last year are back with sophomore seasons, and they're the slowest of slowburns. Will Charlotte get over the loss of Sidney and finally find someone in Sanditon who appreciates her? Will Anthony Bridgerton marry for love or family? I've thrown in one of my favorite slowburn screen romances, inspired by the love of poet John Keats for artist Fanny Brawne. This is slow but incendiary love — the opposite of instalove, but sexy and romantic all the same. (CW: film clips contain spoilers!)
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https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Movies/TV Shows
Bridgerton has been a runaway hit on Netflix for good reason: excellent direction, crisp editing, emotional scripts, stunning costumes and sets, exceptional ensemble acting, incredible pop/classical music, and a wonderfully diverse cast. Oh and the wigs! Insane hairdressing.
Sanditon is based on the final unfinished Jane Austen novel. It's a fresh, modern adaptation and a costume drama lover's dream. Rose Williams as Charlotte Heyward is the central jewel of the excellent ensemble cast. Her friend Georgiana Lambe, played by Crystal Clarke, really comes into her own during this season.
This is a somewhat odd trailer for Bright Star. The overall mood of the film is more elegiac — stark and darkly romantic, which better suits the story. This scene, a bit longer in the film, is one of my favorites and represents the mood of the movie best to me.
Books
Bridgerton is based on the romance series by Julia Quinn.
My college seminar instructor would rap my knuckles because Keats' poem is actually called Ode on a Grecian Urn. You can find more of his famous poems here. Keats' life was tragic but also prolific, full of romance, friendship and beauty.
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