Mary Bryant

A truly phenomenal film which has restored my faith in the Australian Film Industry. However, it was too good to be a telemovie - I wonder why they did not give it a go at the cinemas.

It is going to clean up at the AFIs - I hope it does.

Everyone's acting was fantastic, the plot was incredible and everything about it made me question how Australia could possibly have made it. I mean we are notorious for creating crap films and then telemovies like 'Jessica' and 'Mary Brant' come along and you just go "aaaaah, thank god!" A well deserved 9/10, I hope channel 10 get the ratings and accolades they deserve for this.

This 2 part series was spectacular. I was surprised it was not made into a movie and shown at the cinema. I loved Mary's character that was portrayed brilliantly by a very talented actress. As a great fan of period dramas, I would definitely consider this one of the best I have seen and would highly recommend it. All the characters were portrayed well and the quality of acting was Superb. The scenery and settings were spot on. Having read books on the topic of convicts in Austalia. I found this incredibly real to what life must have been like for those who traveled on such ships. Mary's will to live and the story of her journey was remarkable. Sam Neil is fantastic as the Admiral and 'Will' was played, again superbly, by yet another talented actor. By the end I was in tears and couldn't sleep for thinking of this fantastic mini-series. I will definitely buy this on DVD and no doubt watch it again and again.

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.

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

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!