Bright Star: Jane Campion dramatizes the love life of Romantic poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), who, between writing and worrying about book sales, falls in love with the seamstress next door (Abbie Cornish). Gorgeously lyrical sequences lift this above mere costume drama.
- Kenneth Burns
Whip It: Ellen Page (Juno) slips away from her sleepy Texas town and beauty-pageant-mad mother (Marcia Gay Harden) for the roller-derby rink. Drew Barrymore's directing debut teems with girl-power spirit and exudes an all-encompassing benevolence.
- Marjorie Baumgarten
