It was lovely to read new reactions to Mary Bryant. It's such a wonderful and powerful story isn't it? It makes me very proud to be of pioneering stock that's for sure.
My two favourite scenes in the movie are the ones that
dsr mentioned in her post; when Will admits to never having sailed to Spain, and when he tells Mary she's free in Timor. Alex played both those scenes
just perfectly. When Mary asks Will why he lied and he answers "don't you know me by now?" I actually teared up. She was so strong and he had been such a braggart. Mary brought out the best in Will, but he couldn't see that and he suffered from low self esteem, even though he acted like he was the best thing since sliced bread.
The Timor scenes were amongst some of the first ones filmed, and it was wonderful to see that chemistry between Alex and Romola so early in the production. I thought that scene in their bedroom was so fraught with tension and emotion when she climbs into his lap. The director said Alex improvised during that scene when he pulls back to look into her face before kissing her again. It was just divine to watch.
Beautifully played.
The character of Will could have been quite simply drawn in this story, but the writer (and Alex) gave him such a lot of depth. Clark was the same. He could so very easily have been a one note antagonist, but he was written as a beautifully multi-layered person who you alternated feeling sorry for and despising. To me, Mary was the most straight forward character in the story. Her strength of purpose was spectacular, but I know the writer and director worked very hard to make sure audiences could still relate to her. They didn't want her to come off as superwoman, or a heartless user (regarding her treatment of Clark). Romola, who was only 22 or so when she made the film, did a great job of showing Mary's emotional vulnerability while still keeping her in character as a schemer and survivor.
Historically, not a lot is known about Mary, and I think no more was heard of her after she gained her freedom back in England. (I loved how they ended the film with images of her overlaid with scenes of Will and the children. So poignant!
) The director read many books on the first fleet to prepare for the movie and said that there were conflicting reports about the rape of the female convicts, but he included it because it could very well have happened, and let's face it, it's a mighty powerful image.
As for the conditions they suffered on first arriving in the colony; those are true. They arrived on the 26th of January 1788, which is the middle of summer and the land was in the grip of drought. They were totally unprepared for life in a country so radically different to their homeland. The crops were unsuitable for the arid country and all the good, arable land was many miles away (over a mountain range). They really did suffer for a long time. It was also a fact that Governor Phillip would hang anyone who stole from the colony (the reason why young Sam in the film was hanged when re-captured), including his own soldiers.
The journey in the cutter took Mary, Will and the others 10 weeks, and it was also true that Will got drunk in Timor and spilled the beans about where they really came from. In the film Mary saves the day and covers for him, but in reality that is how they were discovered and re-captured. Also, Ralph Clark, while a real historical figure, was not Mary's lover and he didn't hunt them down.
Sorry, I'm rattling on (as I can do) and will shut up now.
