My Brilliant Career (1979)

Waste of time

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A headstrong young woman comes of age in the Austalian outback during the early 20th century. There is hardly any plot to drive the narrative, causing the film to drag despite the relatively short running time. Not only does the plot meander somewhat, but also the motivations of the central character are unclear. She is supposed to be an ambitious feminist, but she comes across as a confused woman who's only goal is to stay unmarried. Davis is good in her first starring role, although it's hard to buy her as the ugly duckling that the film portrays her as. Neill is young and handsome but rather bland as her suitor.

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.

An overlooked masterpiece. Not only did Gillian Armstrong's direction serve the material superbly, but Judy Davis's Sybilla was one of the boldest film debuts I've ever seen. The gasps heard all over the theater when Sam Neill is first seen (from Sybilla's POV in the tree) also made an indelible impression.Perhaps most impressive is the screenplay, which greatly improves on what turned out to be a good novel so dated that it is all the more amazing that anyone ever thought to make it into a film. The musical score was also a delight.Most confusing to me is that it has taken so long for it to be released on home video. A major addition to any thinking film-goer's home library.

Watching this film made me think of what a strong character Sybylla is. In a time when doing something like trying to have a career, as a woman, was basically not done we are introduced to someone who is so head strong that she doesn't care what anyone says. One thing that I really enjoyed about this movie is the relationship between Sybylla and Harry Beecham because of the way it was presented. Usually a love relationship in a film is something that is just expected after one interaction, the audience should just know that since we see these two characters together they are now in love, nothing that you see actually develop on screen with multiple encounters and a progress of feelings. I felt like a huge part of this story was the development of the Harry/Sybylla connection. It's obvious early in the film that she cares for no one else, when she throws the flowers given to her by Frank in the river we see she has no intention of giving him a second thought. We see through the numerous encounters with these two that they both have very strong feelings for the other and it is finally revealed when he proposes to her. She takes this offer very seriously but realizes that if she is to be true to herself she cannot accept his offer. This hurts both of them very much and we can see that when she is teaching the family that her father is indebted to and she is not able to write him a letter. When he shows up at her family's farm two years later and re-offers his proposal it is another account of just how much she means to him. When she declines again it is for her reasons and for her career that she is not able to accept. I think that this is a great characteristic of her in this film and helps to make the point of how she is such a strong willed woman who will not settle for less then what she knows she is capable of.