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My Brilliant Career (1979)

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Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 7
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 0

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Release Date: Aug 17, 1979 Wide

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 289

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Movie Info

Both actress Judy Davis and director Gillian Armstrong made a big splash on the international scene with this charming Australian film that examines late 19th century Australian society from the perspective of a headstrong woman who refuses to follow convention. The film charts the developing self-awareness of Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis) as she grows from an insecure tomboy to a self-assured woman. Sybylla wants to be a writer and stuns her family and friends by her insistence on following her

G, 1 hr. 41 min.

Drama, Romance, Art House & International

Directed By: Gillian Armstrong

In Theaters: Aug 17, 1979 Wide

On DVD: May 31, 2005

Cast

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

Critic Reviews for My Brilliant Career

All Critics (12) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (0) | DVD (7)

A seminal part of Australian cinema, made at the end of the 70s, when local filmmaking was no longer just a wild dream; in some ways we can see a symbolic metaphor for Australia itself in the story of strong willed Sybylla aspiring to be heard

November 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile

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Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

A remarkably assured -- and unfailingly attractive looking -- look at the life of a young woman in 1897 Australia.

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

My Brilliant Career is a near perfect film exploring the efforts of an independent-minded farm girl to fulfill her dream of becoming a writer.

January 27, 2004 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

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Audience Reviews for My Brilliant Career

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Sybylla Melvyn is a girl with a spark. She's also a girl who refuses to let 19th century sensibilities extinguish it. Set in Australia in the late 1800's, My Brilliant Career chronicles the story of a woman years ahead of her time. Whoever cast Judy Davis as 'plain and ugly' ought to have their eyesight examined.

July 3, 2009

Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

Slow moving enlightenment drama with Judy Davis giving an excellent performance as usual. The characters are just to remote to really engage you leaving you feeling little for their stuggles.

September 7, 2009