75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Passionate film about one woman's journey to freedom!, May 17, 2007
This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD)
This was a truly passionate film about one woman's journey to freedom: Mary Bryant, who was transported to a penal colony in Australia for stealing (just once) out of desperation & hunger. Mary Bryant, played superbly by Romola Garai, must do unthinkable things in order to survive the harsh world she now finds herself in. The action in this film is intense and rarely lets up...
Please be aware that the content of this film is an R: there is disturbing violence (including sexual violence), nudity, sex and more. This one was a bit of a hard one to watch, as the content was very strong and intense. However, Mary Bryant's story is quite moving, if you are willing to wade through the strong content. Her passion and will to live are truly inspiring.
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Graphic portrayal of a harsh life, September 28, 2007
This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD)
First off, if you're thinking that this is going to be another british type period drama with just a hint of realism, this isn't the series for you. Some scenes are VERY graphic and sometimes painful to watch (a woman is severely whipped for an offense while aboard ship....chaos reigns when the prisoners finally arrive in Botany Bay -- rape and violence). The conditions aboard ship while on the way to Australia are horrendous and graphicly shown. In other words, this is not a series for the faint fo heart. As for why the film makers felt the need to show such scenes, I can only surmise that they wanted the audience to experience at least a part of what these prisoners lived through.
Warnings aside, I have to say that I enjoyed the series as a whole. The actors involved were tremendous, especially Romola Garai (Mary Bryant) and Jack Davenport (Lt. Clarke). Romola managed to make me both hate and yet feel compassion for her character; a hard feat indeed. Mary, is manipulative to the extreme. She fought with everything she had in order to insure the survival of her children, her husband (fellow prisoner played by Aussie Alex O'Loughlin) and herself. The object of most of that manipulation is one Lt. Clarke, a man most certainly out of his depth and obsessed with Mary.
My one and only criticism of the series is that because of the way that certain scenes were shot and edited, you almost feel as if you should be rooting for Mary to end up with Clarke instead of the husband.
Overall, a definitely worthwhile viewing. High production values and beautifully shot. But be warned, this is most certainly not for the faint fo heart.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible journey of Mary Bryant, February 18, 2008
Based on a true story, this movie is about an Englishwoman who was sent to what became the very first penal colony in New South Wales (Australia). The hardships were more realistically depicted than in most stories of this type. Along the way she finds loves and endures even greater hardships, in her quest for freedom. Highly recommend, but not for anyone under 18.
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