Mary Bryant

I think its a pretty darn good TV movie hey.... although as always the aboriginal roles are relegated to absolute nothing which I wish I wish I wish COULD BE CHANGED!

But anyways...its about Mary's story..and its pretty realistic about the anarchy, the dirt the grime, the sexually charged atmosphere of depravity..as the Aboriginal elders and young uns watched this cesspool of white convicts raping and killing each other...who were the savages again? It questions many things about Australia as a penal colony journeying with this character of Mary.

But the film really depicts as many sides to the story as possible and with Jack Davenport playing against his type in the Brit- hit series "Coupling", mix that with a real ball-cruncher of Romola Grai and you've got something thats definitely meant to liven up the dreary boring Sunday night TV. Plus the "soft porny" stuff pretty spiff as well!

'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.

The reaction to the British miniseries 'The incredible journey of Mary Bryant' seems to be a sign of the times: Whereas the accolades poured in for the portrayals of Mary and her husband, the masterfully portrayed character of Officer Clarke was misunderstood / brushed over and his complex relationship with Mary largely ignored. In my book Mary was a selfish b..., solely driven by the will to survive, with little regard for the feelings of others except those of her immediate family. Officer Clarke, on the other hand, is a much more complex character: The product of a morally strict and repressive upbringing, he is basically a decent, kind man who ends up acting mercilessly (within the framework of the cruelty sanctioned or even demanded by his job) when his pride is wounded. That is his Achilles' heel. He suffers intense humiliation when Mary, in pursuit of her own selfish agenda, at first liberates him from his inhibitions and then betrays his trust and makes a fool of him in front of his peers. The realization of her callous exploitation of his kindness and his feelings seriously wounds his whole identity. Nevertheless, he can't get himself to kill her when he has her at his mercy (in his musket's visor): Twice he lets her escape; it's only the third time that he finally 'delivers her to justice' - and had Mary not once again revealed her falseness to him by sidling up to him again, he probably would have let her escape once more. All the time he finds himself in the struggle to keep his dignity. Jack Davenport's superb portrayal of this emotionally rich and complex character deserves the highest praise. To me it was the actual focus of the film. Barbara N.

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.

Before I start I would like to say Australia has THE BEST MINI SERIES, for example some great Aussie mini series are: Blue Murder, The Day of the Roses, Jessica and this Mary Bryant to name a few while the Americans had crappy ones like the 4400 and Battlestar Gallactica which I was looking forward to but was disappointing. I think the secret to Aussie mini series success is because some are based on true stories and are interesting to learn some true events, they are realistic, you can relate to the characters, the locations show how beautiful Australia is and in these mini series there is a chance that the viewers of these shows have been to the location where it happen and know the area like in The Day of the Roses Granville.

Mary Bryant (based on a true story) shows the life of Mary Broad a young seventeen year old pregnant girl who is on the first fleet sent to Australia for stealing food for her starving family, on the journey over she meets and befriends a man by the name of Wil Bryant who she later marries when they reach land. Sick of their life at the colony they plan to escape with five others and Mary's children to Timor. This is a great story that has a great Australian and international cast who play their roles perfectly. This is another great Aussie mini series that should not be missed just like the other Aussie mini series highly recommended!