My Brilliant Career [Criterion Collection]

Director: Gillian Armstrong Gillian Armstrong

Overview

Although she has grown up in genteel poverty, Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis) has managed to retain a distinctive point of view about life and her place in it. Set in late 19th-century Australia, this story chronicles Sybylla's development from gawky girlhood to assured womanhood and her quest to retain her independence in a male-dominated world. Possessed of literary ambitions, she is encouraged by her wealthy grandmother, with whom she comes to live. Harry Beecham (Sam Neill), a kind and attentive (and rich) local landlord, begins to court her, but she is soon shipped off (in repayment of a family debt) to tutor a grim lot of poor farm children, the McSwats. Harry persists in pressing his suit, and Sybylla persists in enduring her present circumstances, writing all the while, and continues to refuse his proposal of marriage. My Brilliant Career is based on Miles Franklin's autobiographical novel.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/30/2019
UPC:	0715515229319
Original Release:	1979
Rating:	G
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	18,828

Special Features

Audio commentary from 2009 featuring Armstrong; New interview with Armstrong; Interview from 1980 with actor Judy Davis; New interview with production designer Luciana Arrighi; One Hundred a Day (1973), a student short film by Armstrong; Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Judy Davis	Sybylla Melvyn
Sam Neill	Harry Beecham
Wendy Hughes	Aunt Helen,Peter McSwat,Peter McSwat
Robert Grubb	Frank Hawdon
Max Cullen	Mr. McSwat
Patricia Kennedy	Aunt Gussie
Aileen Britton	Grandma Bossier
Peter Whitford	Uncle Julius
Carole Skinner	Mrs. McSwat
Alan Hopgood	Father
Julia Blake	Mother
Tina Robinson	Lizer McSwat
Aaron Corrin	Jimmy McSwat
Sharon Crouch	Sarah McSwat
Simone Buchanan	Mary Anne McSwat
Haylely Anderson	Rosie Jane McSwat
David Franklin	Horace
Aaron Wood	Stanley
Marion Schad	Gertie
Max Meldrum	Mr. Harris
Suzanne Roylance	Biddy
Zelda Smyth	Ethel
Bobbie Ward	Mrs. Butler
Amanda Pratt	Blanche Derrick
Robert Austin	Willie McSwat
Gerry Duggan	Squatter
Ray Meagher	Mailman
Mark Spain	Tommy McSwat
Dorothy St. Heaps	Mrs. Derrick
Nathan Waks	Composer

Technical Credits

Eleanor Witcombe

Gillian Armstrong	Director
Margaret Fink	Producer
Eleanor Witcombe	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- My Brilliant Career (Criterion Collection)
1. More To Life
2. Leaving Home
3. A Famillar Face
4. Married For Love
5. Aunt Gussie
6. Falling For Harry
7. Just Friends
8. At The Ball
9. Marriage Proposal
10. A Promise
11. Governess Sybylla
12. Back Home
13. Her Story

Menu

Disc #1 -- My Brilliant Career (Criterion Collection)
   Play The Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary: Off
   Commentary: On
   Supplements
      Gillian Armstrong
      Judy Davis
      Luciana Arrighi
      One Hundred A Day
      Trailer

Editorial Reviews

1979 was a timely year for a challenging feminist film about an unconventional woman bucking a conservative society. It was also the height of the Australian cinema's New Wave. Director Gillian Armstrong was therefore perfectly positioned to score with her first feature film, about a proto-feminist heroine in early 20th century Australia. The heroine was played by Judy Davis with an engaging determination that helped Armstrong's picture win international attention. With its deliberate pace and thoughtful attention to detail, My Brilliant Career was a surprise hit that launched both Davis and Armstrong to stardom. It was also helped by a fine performance from Sam Neill as the heroine's suitor.

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