Moonlightaholics

Red - You're killing me with those photos. For me, the only thing more heartwrenching than the movie is that it really did happen.

nutmegger911 wrote:Red - You're killing me with those photos. For me, the only thing more heartwrenching than the movie is that it really did happen.

Well, kind of. There was a liberal dose of dramatic licence.

Red

Now that would be interesting to delve into the differences between the movie and the actual account. Do you know what parts were real and what was dramatic license?

There are quite a few - for example, the wonderful death scene never happened. Will Bryant died of fever on the ship home to England (to face trial).

It was Will, not Mary, who got 100 lashes (for stealing fish) - thank GOD they changed that!

The deception of Lt. Clarke seems to be a plot device (although a very plausible one).

There are all kinds of other differences. The essence of the story is true and you can see how the changes were made for dramatic reasons.

Red

OK, so I said I wasn't going to read this thread until I had watched MB.....but I couldn't resist. But you'll be rid of me the rest of the evening as the next three hours belong to Mary Bryant.

Cool. What about the rest of it? i.e. the circumstances of her first pregnancy, the conditions in Botany Bay, the trip in the fishing boat, etc.? Did her real kids die on the return trip as well? Thanks for the info.

DSR - Enjoy the film and have a hanky handy.

see you later, dsr.

Both Mary's children died of fever on the return trip to England. The first pregnancy is accurate. As for the Botany Bay conditions, there are few contemporary accounts so much of what we know comes via Mary herself. Her case was taken up by James Boswell on her return to England, hence becoming a cause célèbre. If anything it seems like the film glossed over many of the harsher aspects of life there.

The trip IS accurate - although there was a crew of 8 (including Mary and Will) plus the children. Apparently they were assisted by a Dutch fisherman with whom Will had established trade. They definitely sailed from Botany Bay to Timor without charts - a remarkable achievement.

Red

Thanks for the info. I expect them to take dramatic license whenever they do a film based on real life. However, dramatic licesnes only goes so far. From what I had heard, the conditions were brutal, the odds were insane, and the outcome just tragic. Some say the journey was comparable to Cook's, which is still lauded as one of the great achievements of naval history. I'm still impressed with these folks.

ETA: delete duplicate word.

Oh, sorry, nm911, I thought you were asking because you were looking for info - not confirmation of what you'd already discovered. Perhaps you have some more details to share?

Red

I LOOOOOVE hearing about the reality vs. the drama... clearly the story had plenty of drama in RL... thank you so much for those facts, Red... and NM, if you know more, please tell!

I have read a bit about the early penal colony and it WAS beyond brutal. In that era... well, TPTB as it were, thought they WERE TPTB because they were favored by God. And those who were have-nots, were have-nots because they were NOT favored by God; they were less-than, not deserving. This is how slavery was justified, how penal colonies in Australia and elsewhere were justified... how the French aristocracy (which in RL did not include the DuValls) were justified.

So not only were the physical living and technological conditions brutal, but usually the mentality of the guards was spare the rod... ya know. And death was an everyday companion even for the well to do and the powerful. So the death of an inmate, a slave, a convict... no reason for tears.

But I am SOOOOOO glad they did not show WIll getting the lashes... not just tears, but screams and wailing and gnashing of teeth that woulda caused!!!!!! Tho I am sure Alex woulda done the scene right up...

Dr. Grace, I suspect you probably know more about this than all of us combined.


My understanding was that the basic facts of the story were correct, but I didn't have as much detail as Red. The trip to Botany Bay on a real ship was quite a feat back then. The escape journey boggles the mind. My awareness of the perils of sea travel at the time springs from my interest in clocks. (but that is another story)

Red - I was looking for information. Your original post made me wonder if the "dramatic license" had been taken too far in the film. It sounded like you maybe had additional information indicating that the actual historical occurrence was not nearly what the film portrayed. You did have additional information, but even with that, the elements of the true story that were most heartbreaking (to me) had not been changed (which was my concern). Sex and shootouts fill the theatre seats, but for me, what was compelling was the fact that these folks were in such dire straits, they took extraordinary steps to change their plot and got as far as they did. Then, after all that, Mary Bryant still lost everything. For me, that's the "true" part of the story that should not be messed with. Thank goodness, those elements were kept intact.

I've seen the movie once, which was awhile ago. I don't remember crying, but I was overwhelmed by it. It was so well done and gripping, I couldn't believe I had sat down for 3 hours. It zipped by! I was engrossed by the characters and what they were going through.

I'm another Coupling/Jack Davenport and Sam Neill fan so that is a nice bonus.

Romala was amazing and her eyes....just like with Alex...speak volumes! She's beautiful and charismatic. She and Alex (and she and Jack) had terrific chemistry together.

Losing everything you love but gaining your freedom has to be incredibly difficult, but she made it through. Fantastic film!

coco wrote:

redwinter101 wrote:

Wonderful, coco. How you doin'?

Red

I'm good, Red. I confess.... not a single solitary tear.

I'm a little worried that was not the reaction I was supposed to have.

Loved Alex and Jack so very much though.

Wow, coco, you managed to get through the end of that movie without one single tear!? I'm impressed. I had to be mopped up off the floor.

Plus, to be honest... Alex's death scene was so amazingly, fabulously acted, IMO, that I was riveted by the performance... sad, but so fascinated I was also excited, if that makes sense.
Now when I DID cry like a frikkin child is... when the children died.

Same here, grace. I was riveted by Alex's performance - I don't think I even breathed. I was too shocked to cry. But when the kids died? You'd have thought I knew them personally.



edited to add comment

I've just finished part 1, and will have to hold off on part 2 until tomorrow night.....if I watch it tonight, there's no way I'll be able to sleep

I agree with wondergirl.....the operative word is overwhelmed on so many levels....

From what I've seen so far, the movie was extremely well crafted. No one scene was overdone or prolonged, the acting top notch, the cinematography breathtaking.

But dear God, what wretched people we are! The depiction of shipboard life on the way to Botany Bay left me feeling sick ; how inhumane we can be to our fellow man. Regardless of the severity of the crime, these poor wretches were packed away more as cargo than as human beings. One of the gentry dining above the teeming mass below said it well; that it is more about extending the empire than it is about relieving the prison population; truly a fool's errand.

The characters of Will and Mary are well matched....getting off on the wrong foot, then ultimately working together....having not seen Part 2 yet, I'm curious as to whether they'll grow closer or not. Do they truly love each other or is theirs a relationship of survival? Mary's actions to get the key to the warehouse are equally heartbreaking. She has little choice, though, as the only other option is to stay and starve to death.

Elizabeth's punishment was hard to watch, but Mary's acknowledgment that the punishment was really meant for her was heartbreaking. Elizabeth's last act was to help her friend the only way she knew how and the horror on Lt. Clarke's face was truly convincing.

Lt. Clarke's character is somewhat of a Jekyll / Hyde one. He can't possibly be that naive and gotten that far in His Majesty's service. Even the parson can't believe it. But when he's pushed, he has his own demons and he unleashes them on Elizabeth.

While the lot of all the prisoners was hellish, the lot of the female prisoners was more so. Their very survival might just depend upon how 'willing' they might be in certain endeavors. The truly telling scene for me was when the male prisoners break from the control of their captors and wreak mayhem on the female prisoners. I don't know what was more revolting - watching men give way to their basest savage nature or watching the captors stand by and let it continue. Even the governor is inclined to stand by and 'let it run its course.' The aboriginal natives looking on reflected the disgust I felt. The aftermath as Will and Mary walk through the camp was gut wrenching.

Yet after all was said and done, what I've seen so far of this film is remarkable. Tomorrow, this time, I may be crying inconsolably.

Oh, DSR, you are so right. The true power in this movie is that it confronts you with the situation on such a visceral level. As heartwrenching as it is, it is a must watch (IMHO). *Hands DSR a hanky* You're gonna need it.