The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (2005)

Just wonderful

This is a great story, in which the characters have been made complex and attractive. It provides good food for thought on the way human nature is taken to its boundaries to make history and do incredible things. But you wonder ... what men and women are capable of doing is amazing, both on the positive and the negative sides, and most of the times it is hard to decide which way they are going. The actors do a great job, especially Romola Garai and Alex O'loughlin. Alex's character is especially endearing and well played. June 28, 2008

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

A wonderful mini-series. If you are a fan of Alex O'Loughlin, then it's a must see. May 4, 2008

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

Romola Garai is a wonderful actress. I can't believe she isn't a huge star. I love Alex O'Loughlin also. He is an excellent actor as well as being cute and sexy. The story line was interesting and held your interest. March 31, 2008

Could & Should Have Been Much More

[At the request of a commenter let me preface this with SPOILER WARNING -- if you would be wanting to see this movie for the plot only, don't keep reading. For those who have some idea of the history and won't be surprised by it -- or who are more interested in it for the history and not mere entertainment, you are safe to proceed.]


I wanted to love this movie... I really, really wanted to love this movie. Sadly, I don't.

FIrst I would agree with the previous reviewers that they went overboard in showing nudity, sex and violence (particularly the sexual violence). I had planned on watching this as a family because a review elsewhere had raved about it's educational value. I'm not sure, having seen it, where that came from.

It raises good questions for the conservatives amongst us -- what would you be willing to do for your freedom? What extremes would you go to in order to save your family? Considering the mixed outcome (Mary survives but her husband and children do not), it doesn't give you easy answers. It raises questions about hubris, about reaching or striving too far... what if they had settled somewhere? How long would they have gotten along if they had?

It does show something of the deplorable conditions people have been forced to live through (my ex husband's father's brothers were picked up on the streets of Dublin, according to witnesses having done nothing wrong, sent off to Australia by the British and never heard from again. It raises new questions and appreciation for me of what they went through.)

While you can argue that the graphic depiction is to make a point, it was not necessary -- my 17-year-old son asked me numerous times to please fast forward because he didn't want to watch these sorts of things. (More power to him.) The characters could have been more developed. While Mary is a strong character, she comes off somewhat 2-dimensional. We never learn enough of her to understand her motivation to risk so much... we learn less of the other characters. In particular the man Mary has the affair with in order to procure needed items is left a shell of a man, and her interactions with him so obvious that even a desperate man of limited intelligence, no matter what part of his anatomy he was thinking with, would have been able to see right through them.

The story is remarkable, the cast is good, the screenplay left much to be desired and I would say the directing did as well... it could have been, should have been, so much more.
December 22, 2007

History and Nice Looking Men together

If you are a history buff or a fan of Alex O'Loughlin and Jack Davenport, this movie is a MUST HAVE for your collection.

This movie is based on the real life story of Mary Bryant, who was one of the first prisoners sent to Australia. It skims over this and that, but does a good job of telling the story.

Alex O'Louglin plays William Bryant, Mary's husband and Jack Davenport plays Lieutenant Ralph Clarke, who stives as much for Mary's attentions as for justice for the convicts.

The scenery in this movie is beautiful and the story hooks you in for wanting more. December 8, 2007

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