Ma brillante carrière

It's 1897 rural Australia. It's rough living in a patriarchal society. Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis) has many big dreams. She wants a grand career rather than a marriage. Her mother tells her that they can't keep her anymore. She is sent away to live with her rich grandmother. She is excited at first by the change. She is soon pursued by the Frank Hawdon (Robert Grubb) and childhood acquaintance Harry Beecham (Sam Neill). She refuses to be married off. She grows closer and closer to Harry.

These are two great young Aussie actors. The story meanders a bit. My best comparison is Anne of Green Gables without the humor. Without the humor, Sybylla comes off a little more huffy. Judy Davis is a very appealing actress. The back and forth in the romance is quite compelling. It's an empowering story and there's also the acting. The cinematographer is also great.

Judy Davis, as Sybylla Melvin, struggles with the conflicts that we all have between ambition, family, love, and guilt in a most remarkable manner. Sybylla grows to understand that life is a series of trade-offs, and that no one can have it all, and that no one can please everyone. Simple yet universal themes told with charm, wit, and a vulnerability that allows us to get right inside of her character and to understand her --- up to a point that is, a career is vital but I don't believe I'd have the strength to pass up Sam Neill under any circumstances, especially as cute as he is in this movie. In fact, all the acting is great, and the cinematography is breathtaking. Gillian Armstrong has been my idol ever since she made this magnificent film. I give it a 10.

Usually I'm not too interested in these kinds of films, but i found myself becoming involved in the characters and their lives. The movie was very well done, and it explores many of the social gender roles that are still applicable today.

It is a funny, yet serious movie, that has some deep undertones.

I would recommend watching it.

Don't get me wrong, I like Judy Davis & I like this movie because of the nice chemistry between her and Sam Neill. Sam sure was handsome when he was younger (still looks good now too, though).

In the end I didn't get the main character because her behavior didn't make a lot of sense to me. If Sam Neill's character was an idiot I would understand, but he was about as perfect for Davis' character as she could ever hope for & her "career" didn't seem like much of a lifestyle......so her actions left me perplexed.

Still, the movie was well done & the scenery was interesting. It kept me engaged until the end....however, when the final credits rolled I was left scratching my head.

Judy Davis is Sybylla, a girl of the Australian outback around 1909. As portrayed by Davis, in her breakthrough role, Sybylla is a font of boundless energy wanting desperately to escape the backwardness of her young life. Sam Neill, also in one of the significant early roles of his career, is likewise charming as the young man who presents her with a tempting alternative to her ambition to become a writer and escape the frontier life forever.

This is not a great or epic story, certainly, but it is a quiet, rewarding story of a young woman's quest for a better life. A worthy entry among the films that marked the ascendancy of the "Australian Renaissance" in film-making during the 1970s; director Armstrong would go on to make such films as "Mrs. Soffel" and the 1994 "Little Women."