Cinema · A way to begin
My Brilliant Career
Gillian Armstrong · 1979
Synopsis
In 1897, in rural Australia, Sybylla, the eldest child of a poor family of stock farmers, dreams of writing or going on the stage rather than helping on the farm. Her parents, who can no longer afford to keep her, send her to her rich grandmother's to learn good manners. Two young men from the neighbourhood court her: Frank Hawdon, whom she ignores, and Harry Beecham, of a higher rank, to whom she becomes attached. The rumours Frank spreads disturb their understanding, and at a ball Harry asks her to marry him.
Context
The film adapts a novel of 1901, the rights to which the producer Margaret Fink had acquired; she entrusted the screenplay to Eleanor Witcombe and the direction to a young woman fresh out of film school. It was the first Australian feature film directed by a woman in forty-six years. Shot in eight weeks, in October and November 1978, in the Monaro region, for 890,000 dollars, it was released in Australia on 17 August 1979 and competed at Cannes the same year. It launched the career of its director and that of Judy Davis, twice awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts; Sam Neill plays the role of Harry Beecham.
Who it is for
A period film in English, released in France under the title Ma brillante carrière, driven by an unruly heroine.
Prizes and reception
Six AFI awards in 1979, including best film and direction; nominated for the Oscar for costume design and the Golden Globe.
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