My Brilliant Career 04/30/19

Gill(ian) Armstrong’s breakthrough feature does a leapfrog over stories like Little Women, with heroines that prevail even when adhering to the Meek Sex role of their time. Judy Davis’s Sybylla Melvin knows that she’s a freckle-faced pain in the neck: despite being proud that she’s attracted the local male catch, her every sinew is committed to her goal of artistic expression and self-fulfillment. The setting is the turn-of-the-century Australian Outback but the story is universal. Sam Neill is remarkable in one of the most ‘thankless’ romantic roles ever.  On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
04/30/19