An impossibly young Judy Davis is the star of "My Brilliant Career" - the movie that started hers - a 1979 film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The story concerns Sybylla, growing up in the 1890s in the wilds of Australia who wants more from her life than marriage. She is sent to live with her grandmother, where relatives tame her wild hair, soften her coarse skin, but can't do anything about her spirit. Though she falls for a wealthy young man (Sam Neil), she is true to what her heart tells her, desiring most of all to be a writer and an independent person.
Davis does a wonderful job as Sybylla who, although headstrong, manages to make the best of whatever situation she's in. What a life for women back then. Her family can't afford to keep her, so there is pressure on her to marry or take a position. Living with her grandmother affords her some great opportunities for a better life. But when her father owes a local farmer money, she is sent to teach his illiterate children in order to work off the loan. Somehow, she turns that into a positive experience - though when you see the beginning scenes of her life there, you won't imagine she ever could. Sam Neil is very attractive and romantic as Harry, who endeavors to understand this unusual woman.
Beautifully photographed, "My Brilliant Career" is nevertheless no big, sweeping epic, and the focus stays on Sybylla, her challenges, and her determination to be, in every sense, ahead of her time.
