Mary Bryant

This was an excellent and entertaining movie, with convincing costumes and settings. The depiction of the horror of the sea voyages, the appalling nature of life in the convict settlement (scarcely better for the overseeing officials then for the convicts) and the relative luxury and colour of life in the Dutch colony of Timor were all powerfully vivid and evoked a strong sense of place and time. However, too perfect teeth are a recurring difficulty in period movies! The casting of the main characters was first rate, with Romola Garai as Mary shedding the fragility and innocence we saw in 'I Capture the Castle', and displaying considerable depth and emotional strength. Jack Davenport's outstanding performance as one of the marine officers was characterised by moral ambivalence and confusion in someone half a world away from his cultural certainties. Alex O'Loughlin as Will Bryant was a very effective counterweight to Davenport, giving a compelling account of a convicted Cornish smuggler and fisherman struggling within his own clear if unconventional moral framework. This fine team were supported by equally strong performances from the rest of the cast. Authenticity of detail of costume and setting was not however matched by authenticity of narrative – the script takes liberties with events, relationships and the fates of some characters. Although much is not known about Mary's life, some known facts were abused! However the main thrust of Mary's story retains its integrity and the movie provides a welcome testament to an otherwise neglected extraordinary figure from English – and Australian - history.

Mary (Romola Garai) is starving and steals food from a lady on a picnic. She is transported to the penal colony of Botany Bay in Australia along with other petty criminals like Will Bryant (Alex O'Loughlin). Idealistic Lt Ralph Clarke (Jack Davenport) takes pity on Mary and takes care of her. She lets out that she's pregnant from another jailer and he's taken aback by rumors of possible moral impropriety. At the colony, Will becomes the only fisherman and marries Mary. Together they start a family. However the colony is hit with riot, rapes, drought and starvation. Mary seduces Ralph in a plan to steal the only sea-worthy boat and supplies as the group of outlaws escape the colony under Gov. Phillip (Sam Neill)'s harsh rule.

Mary Bryant is a wonderful character daringly performed by Romola Garai. I'm conflicted about the story. It's not correct historically and I don't think it works dramatically. It would flow better to fictionalize the story even more. The first part is amazing. The last half of the second part struggles with various turns and slower parts. It's a great character in a historical drama.

'The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant' tells the breathtaking tale of Cornish convict Mary Bryant (Romola Garai), convicted for stealing a bonnet and bread and sentenced to England's new Colony on the other side of the world in Australia. Mary, who had never been more than 5 miles outside of her village, made the journey with the first fleet in 1787, on the boat commanded by Captain Clarke (Jack Davenport). Clarke has a vision of reform for the convicts, an idea which clashes with the beliefs of Governor Arthur Phillip (Sam Neill) who sees no hope for England's trash. Clarke has particular hope for the wide-eyed angelic Mary; raped while in jail in England, Mary was pregnant during the voyage and the birth of her baby girl in the horrendous conditions of the boats is miraculous in itself, but Mary's journey doesn't end there. Arriving at the new colony in New South Wales in 1788 Mary marries Will Bryant, another Cornish convict they and other newly-wed convicts reap the benefits of their marriage as they are granted permission to build a house. Mary and other female convicts are outnumbered by the men 5:1, a gory scene of rape, pillage and plunder harshly depicts exactly how terrible the colonies conditions were for the women of 1788. Not only that, but water is scarce and crops do not grow in the poor soil. Mary, now with 2 children, proposes a plan with her husband to escape from the island prison, by stealing the colonies cutter boat and sailing 4 thousand miles to Timor with 5 other male convicts. But, as Governor Phillip exclaims; "the burden of carrying a woman, and children, no - even if they survive the sea, they'll never survive each other" – so begins Mary's truly incredible and heart-breaking journey.

This is a truly spectacular Australian mini-series, and no surprise since it had a budget in excess of $15 million and is the largest television mini-series ever made in Australia. Directed by Peter Andrikidis and shot over 12 weeks in 22 locations, 'Mary Bryant' is a real accomplishment. The sets are spectacular; from the claustrophobic, sickening hull of the convict ships, to the stifling and scorching colony; every set perfectly evokes the atmosphere of the times and adds to the grandeur of the mini, aided with the beautiful music score of Iva Davies. Of course 'Mary Bryant' isn't always historically accurate, but it's practically impossible for it to be; there are few records of the first fleet's journey and following the events depicted in this mini, Mary Bryant all but vanished from the face of the earth. And despite Mary and Clarke being on the same ship in the first fleet, there is no evidence that they ever had a tumultuous love affair. But where there were plot-holes in history, writer Peter Berry adequately fills in angst-ridden characters and suspenseful plot.

The characters for this larger than life tale are perfectly cast. Romola Garai stars in her first epic role but is no stranger to period pieces; having starred in 'Nicholas Nickelby' and 'Vanity Fair'. Despite Garai's milk skin and doe eyes, she brings sharpness to Mary's strong-willed character; sometimes you resent her, but Garai knows when to make you sympathize and warm to her, and you do. Alex O'Lachlan is a NIDA graduate and his character of Mary's husband, Will is his first big role. He has charm and like Garai, can evoke feelings of bitterness towards the character which gives Will more depth. Jack Davenport rounds out the major leads as Captain Clarke; like O'Lachlan and Garai, Davenport portrays a complicated and multi-faceted character. We see tender moments of real love on Clarke's behalf when Mary seduces him as apart of her plan to escape; one criticism may be that the storyline and lengthy character development between Mary and Clarke means that the audience sees more reason for Mary to be with him, rather than Will. Just as quickly Davenport evokes bitter resentment as Clarke's obsession with Mary destroys and devastates. Even the minor characters deserve praise; Abe Forsythe's innocent charm and adorable looks stir sympathy as Sam, and Sam Neill's stony demeanor perfectly suits for the unsympathetic Governor Phillip assigned the almost impossible task of creating a new society on the barren Australian land.

This is a truly spectacular Australian mini-series, an accomplishment on all fronts, and what makes it truly amazing is it's derived from a true story.

I only had a chance to watch this programme today, however I thought it was absolutely fantastic. The voyage of a young woman to Australia as a convict was amazing. Not only was this film based on facts and true stories but it also showed compassion. You got the chance to look in on Mary's feelings. I felt so sorry for Mary, she was convicted for stealing money, but knowing her social class, you could understand that she was trying to provide for her family, even if it was the wrong way to go about it.

Romola Garai played Mary very well. You could see all sides of Mary's personality, her compassion and love for her two children and husband, but also her more cunning side, using Lt Ralph Clarke on two occasions, the first being to avoid the conditions on the boat. The second time she used him was worse, she lead him on to believe that she had feelings for him (and as you would have already found out) and he has feelings for her. Both Jack Davenport (Lt Ralph Clarke) and Alex O'Loughlin (Will Bryant) performed their roles very well. Jack Davenport shows the audience how sensitive he is towards Mary and how easily he can fold for her, yet as a Lt he can be a hard/tough person.

I would highly recommend watching this i thought it was brilliant

Mary Bryant is a true achievement considering it is made for television. During the last few years, the Australian film and television industry has been suffering enormously due to lack of funding and lack of good screenplays. After having watched Mary Bryant last night it has restored my faith in the Australian industry.

Mary Bryant is a true Australian tale, telling the story of young Cornish girl Mary Broad, who is transported to New South Wales, to Sydney Cove after stealing a bonnet. on the way over she meets two men, Will Bryant who she marries and Lt. Clarke a soldier in the Queen's naval army who takes a liking to her and ultimately falls in love with her the feeling being returned.

The realism of the conditions the convicts faced in 1788 when trying to build a new colony for themselves is very well done - the best I've seen for a long time. The scene where the male convicts go crazy and take advantage of the women convicts is terrible, not so much in that the film makers expose us too long to the scene, but the very fact that the soldiers, including Governor Phillip (played by Sam Neill) just watch, until one of the solider's quips 'the whores had it coming to them' and Governor Philip saying 'we'll just let things run its course.' Having been a fan of Romola Garai's since seeing her in 'I capture the castle' and 'Daniel Deronda', her performance did not disappoint. She is an excellent actress. It was quite liberating to see her break out of her good girl English rose role she always plays - from the sweet innocent Cassandra in 'I capture the castle' to the sweet innocent friend of Becky Sharp in 'Vanity Fair'.

Jack Davenport's portrayal of Clarke was done very well, brilliantly under played and you got a sense of a man who, like in 1788, became very different if living in primitive conditions on a new land, like the first fleet had to endure when arrived in New South Wales. A clear example is when Mary starts to live with him (in order to help her family escape to Timor - seen in part two) and at times he handles her roughly when kissing her (mixing dominance with pleasure) and beds her at every possible opportunity...a far cry to what he would have done in England. But in those times in Australia, it would not have been an improbable romance.

Sam Neil's portrayal of Phillip did disappoint me a bit, as you did not get a sense of the person behind the title, but you did however get the sense he was a strong character, but that was all. At times the story did tend to slow down a bit, but not enough to make real difference to the story.

An interesting insight into the part of history, which we don't get to see much on Australian television screens and I hope Australia will begin to produce as many high quality dramas as Mary Bryant.

8/10