My Brilliant Career

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My Brilliant Career

G

1980

1h 41m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Growing up in the Australian outback, creative and headstrong Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis) dreams of becoming a famous writer despite long odds and the objections of her family. Forced by money problems to move in with her rich grandmother (Aileen Britton), she soon makes the acquaintance of a handsome landowner, Harry (Sam Neill), and wins him over despite their class differences. When Harry proposes, Sybylla must choose between romantic love and the brilliant career she craves.

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Michael Blowen

Boston Globe

Apr 28, 2018

It's hard to imagine a film filled with more quiet integrity, intelligent passion, realistic drama and genuine entertainment than Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career.

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John Skow

TIME Magazine

Sep 9, 2014

This is a modest, clear sighted film, and it profits considerably from a lack of the bravura landscape photography that most directors would have used to puff up a movie set in Australia.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Jul 25, 2008

This Australian film is a charming look at 19th-century rural days in general and the stirrings of self-realization and feminine liberation in the persona of a headstrong young girl who wants to go her own way.

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Sean Burns

Crooked Marquee

Jul 25, 2026

It’s funny that Armstrong’s one big Hollywood hit was her 1994 adaptation of Little Women, because she’d already made one where Jo doesn’t have to marry Mr. Baher.

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Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

Aug 24, 2022

My Brilliant Career is a wonderful movie that details the life of a young woman growing up in turn of the century Australia.

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Jul 13, 2020

4/5

A story of one woman, two suitors, and a passion for the pen.

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Gillian Armstrong

Director

Judy Davis

Sybylla Melvyn

Sam Neill

Harry Beecham

Wendy Hughes

Aunt Helen

Robert Grubb

Frank Hawdon

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Synopsis

Growing up in the Australian outback, creative and headstrong Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis) dreams of becoming a famous writer despite long odds and the objections of her family. Forced by money problems to move in with her rich grandmother (Aileen Britton), she soon makes the acquaintance of a handsome landowner, Harry (Sam Neill), and wins him over despite their class differences. When Harry proposes, Sybylla must choose between romantic love and the brilliant career she craves.

Director: Gillian Armstrong
Producer: Margaret Fink
Distributor: Analysis Film Releasing Corporation
Production Co: Greater Union Organisation (GUO)
Rating: G
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 1, 1980, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2019
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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