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The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant Review- starring Romola Garai, Alex O’ Loughlin, Jack Davenport and Sam Neill

Posted on December 26, 2012 Written by ripitup

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The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant image via edbaran.com
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant image via edbaran.com

In the 18th century, King George decides that instead of hanging criminals, he can just export them to Australia, where they will work under British soldiers forming a colony.

Convicts, regardless of their crime, are transported via ship to Australia- a-9-month journey they’ll endure under horrible conditions.

One of these criminals is a resilient young woman named Mary (Romola Garai) who is guilty of stealing food to feed herself. Realizing that she’s pregnant, she tries improving her conditions by appealing to the seemingly more humane officer, Lieutenant Clarke (Jack Davenport). Things go well for a while, but when he shows disdain for her pregnancy and takes his anger out on her friend, she turns back to her old conditions. She pays more attention to the advances of the handsome convict Will (Alex O’ Loughlin), who not only has saved her life, but has shown support.

Mary has her baby soon before they arrive and soon, she and Will become an inseparable couple. They use her wits and his fishing abilities to build a home, and live a somewhat better life than the rest.

But when conditions get worse, Clark doesn’t wait to rip them off their livelihood-and Mary begins to fear for the survival of her family, now complete with her daughter and her baby son from Will. She comes up with the best plan she can to escape, but she and Will have to sacrifice a whole lot to make it out alive.  And even if they manage to escape, they will have to deal with men they don’t trust and survive even harsher conditions to make it to their destination…

*

The Characters / Actors

(this part might have spoiler(ish) details.)

Mary Bryant is the wonderfully complex (and obviously changed for artistic purposes) true story of Mary Bryant (who gets the Bryant surname after marrying Will). This mini-series has a lot to offer, and it offers them better than most big budget period pieces let alone a project made for TV.

The acting, cinematography, direction, costumes and story are all well done. The lines are powerful, sometimes shocking and with just the right amount of comic relief.

But the real strength comes from the characters and how the actors have handles their roles:

I love how Jack Davenport goes back and forth between humane and cruel, gets torn between duty and desire. Yes, I hate his guts throughout and want to punch his character the whole time. So yeah, I’d say he did a good job. And just because he is a well-ranking soldier again (the other one being Norrington in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl), don’t think they have much in common. Norrington earned a lot of sympathy points-despite his understandable contempt for pirates.

Clarke on the other hand…well, he did way too many things to piss people off. At one point his right hand was warning him that his men could/would turn against him. And we see so much character development from the worthless scumbag (who believed women were there to “serve” them, who thought having a woman on a boat was stupid, who didn’t really care about anything other than his own friends &interests…) grew to respect and understand Mary.

Alex O’Loughlin shows once more than he is a lot more diverse than some people give him credit for. Sure, he lands leading roles in TV series, but that’s because he can pull it off. Just take a look at his parts, on both movie and television: a good vampire (Moonlight), a psychopathic killer with a feeding fetish (Feed), a doctor (Three Rivers), a Navy-seal-turned cop (Hawaii Five-O), an oyster farmer (Oyster Farmer), a serial killer with OCD…

His roles require different accents, quirks and interpretations and he pulls it off well. Here, you don’t see Mick St. John (the vamp from Moonlight) or Steve McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O) – he is a nice, funny, young English fisherman who got busted for smuggling a bit of alcohol- and showed a much stronger and likeable personality than the supposedly religious, reform-believing, well-educated Clarke.

Sam Neill’s Governor makes his cheating/emotionally problematic/prejudiced/self-righteous character in The Vow seem like a cuddly teddy bear. And his solemn character in Alcatraz like a character from Friends. I never liked the character, but the moment I truly hated him was when he said they’d just let them be when the women were being brutally rated.

But while playing off O’Loughlin and Davenport well, Romola Garai has the hardest job. Not only is she in the most scenes, but her character is the one that has to make all the most difficult decisions and undertake the most horrible tasks. Her survival and protective instincts are the strongest. She also uses more brain cells than anyone in the film, but it is never out of arrogance or a desire for social climbing. She tries to help out anyway she can- but if it ever comes to her family, she just chooses her family.

Will and Mary make the perfect couple, and even when they seem like they’ll break down, one of them always reminds the other why they did what they did-and that they still want to be together no matter what. Some of my favorite lines come from those scenes- just when you think they’re not being fair, or letting their despair overcome their feelings for each other, they say something to remind you what makes their characters special and why you admired them in the first place.

*

You’ll love The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant if:

  • You are a fan of any member(s) of the cast
  • You love a well-done period piece
  • You appreciate many shades of grey in characters
  • You love compelling conflicts in stories
  • You love strong characters

 

Now, some of the Memorable Mary Bryant Quotes Scenes:

 (There might be spoilers)

(This one by Will summarizes my thoughts about Mary.)

After having had to leave Sam (Abe Forsythe) behind, Mary is trying hard not to have a breakdown:

Will (matter-of-factly): I could never leave that boy behind. Not more than I could sleep with Ralph Clarke. But we got this far because you could. They all know it but none of them could say it.

Mary (still shaken about it all): We got here because you sailed us here.

*

(They are on the boat again, trying to figure out who has been stealing (eating) their share of limited stored food)

Will: We are all thieves.

They all stare at him.

Will: Someone give you this boat?

*

Governor is surprised that their colony attempt is later decided to be a success by England-even though things have been getting worse.

Governor: It seems Parliament has declared us a success.

Clarke (amused): By what criteria?

 

*

Mary realizes that the others are going to turn against her and Will-leaving them all behind. She also knows the others have the only musket with a bullet left and that they will use it.

So she grabs it while they are asleep and points it towards them:

Mary: We had a plan. Plan thought of by men who had been sick of being treated like animals. We’ve come all this way and nothing has stopped us.  But if we stay here, we’re finished. Now, you’ve made no secret of not wanting me along. One woman in a boat of men. It’s daft idea. But if you leave me, and Will and the children here, you’ll come across a wind you can’t read, a bid you can’t land, a rock you can’t see and you won’t last a week. Now, Will is the one who got us here and Will is the one who’ll get us to Timor. He sailed out from England to Spain and back again in a boat not bigger than ours and in storms far worse than you saw last night.

Cox (Dan Spielman): Going out there in that boat is madness.

Mary: Yes it is madness. A wonderful madness. The kind where strong men grab with both hands – not the kind that eats away weak and frightened men. Now there is a strong wind. We should take it.

Then she fires the gun in the air and walks towards the boat.

Martin (Tony Martin)-to the others: Let’s go.

*

Mary is mad that a drunken Will almost spilled out everything to the Dutch.

She knows that he doesn’t like the charade, pretending to be somebody else, the attention all the men are paying to Mary and that she might just be too happy with all the luxury.

Will: You’d be better off here.Marry a Dutchman. God knows you’ve enough of them lying around your feet. No witnesses. No paper. We were blessed by a fool on a beach. Wasn’t legal outside the colony. You’re free.

Mary angrily pins him down and looks at him.

Mary: I’ve never thought myself as being anything other than free. Ever.

Then she kisses him.

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: Abe Forsythe, adventure, Alex O'Loughlin, alex o’loughlin mary bryant, alex o’louglin, Dan Spielman, drama, Jack Davenport, jack davenport mary bryant, Mary Bryant, romola garai, romola gray mary bryant, sam neill, the incredible journey of mary bryant, the incredible journey of mary bryant cast, the incredible journey of mary bryant mini series, tony martin

Coming in May: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush & Ian McShane

Posted on December 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Pirates of the Caribbean 4- On Stranger Tides - starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane & Geoffrey Rush
Pirates of the Caribbean 4- On Stranger Tides - starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane & Geoffrey Rush. Image via filmofilia.com

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush & Ian McShane

And Captain Jack Sparrow is back!

The first movie of the Pirates of the Caribbean Series, The Curse of the Black Pearl came out in 2003, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush & Jack Davenport (Steve of Coupling). I find it to be one of Johnny Depp’s best movies. It was a perfect combo of adventure, romance & comedy – with great actors and impressive visual effects. It was huge hit with the audience and we had 2 more movies, pretty much with the same leads.

Unfortunately for me, the second part (Dead Man’s Chest) lacked the first one’s magic and the third (At World’s End) wasn’t a pleasant experience at all. Don’t get me wrong- I am not one of those people intrinsically against all sequels. I just didn’t enjoy these ones. When I heard a fourth was in the works, I couldn’t have cared less, that is until I saw the trailer.

The 4th film, On Stranger Tides is shot in 3D and looks really entertaining: there’s flesh blood, in the shape of Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane. Keira Knightley, Orlanda Bloom and Jack Davenport are not among the cast and this seems like a bonus. Sparrow has his usual quirky manners, unique sense of humor, a potential romance and more action and challenges than he can handle, including getting through zombies and surviving Blackbeard (Ian McShane) to get to the fountain of youth.

You can watch the trailer here, and decide for yourselves.

I just can’t wait until May.

Other Johnny Depp Movies & Posts

The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp

Top 8 Johnny Depp Films

Benny & Joon starring Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson & Julianne Moore

Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale & Marion Cotillard

Celebrities That Aged Really Well feat. Depp

Johnny Depp A Kind of Illusion – book on Depp

Handsome Actors to Play Villains: Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Antonio Banderas and Timothy Olyphant

Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr.: Hunky Actors of the 80s and 90s

10 Celebrities to Wear Flats for: Featuring Taylor Lautner, Johnny Depp, Kevin Bacon, Jon Bon Jovi and More

Other Posts on Penelope Cruz

Vicky, Cristina Barcelona starring Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem & Scarlett Johansson

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: adventure, captain jack sparrow, comedy, curse of the black pearl, fantasy, Geoffrey Rush, ian mcshane, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Johnny Depp movies, Keira Knightley, movies, on stranger tides, Penelope Cruz, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, pirates of the caribbean cast, Pirates of the Caribbean on stranger tides

When To Leave a Relationship: You 12 Cues to Leave

Posted on July 8, 2010 Written by ripitup

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relationships, dating


This post has moved to my dating blog Dating and Relationships in the 21st Century.

 

 

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Filed Under: For Fun: Celebrities, dating, relationships and everything else Tagged With: Ben Miles, Coupling, dating, Gina Bellman, Jack Davenport, Kate Isitt, Men, Relationship, relationship advice, relationship issues, relationship problems, relationships, Richard Coyle, romance, Sarah Alexander, sex, threesome, threesomes, women

Coupling starring Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Ben Miles, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt and Gina Bellman

Posted on June 13, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Coupling starring Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Ben Miles, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt and Gina Bellman
Coupling starring Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Ben Miles, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt and Gina Bellman. 2000. Characters: On the bed are Susan (Sarah Alexander) and Steve (Jack Davenport). Staring, from left: Jane (Gina Bellman), Sally (Kate Isitt), Jeff (Richard Coyle) and Patrick (Ben Miles). Image from: http://i26.tinypic.com/2u6ec60.jpg

Now, all I have to say is that there are only three mistakes ever made about this show:
1) This brilliant sitcom, like many UK TV series, has too few episodes.6 -9 episodes? Are you kidding me? I keep coming back to watch the show again and again and all episodes through 3 seasons are downright hilarious. Too bad they didn’t shoot more.

2) The 4th season was a mistake. I am sorry, but taking Jeff (Richard Coyle) from Coupling? What were they taking. Think what could have happened if Matthew Perry a.k.a Chandler from Friends left. And put another actor as another character into the mix. Yep, it simply would suck.

3) Remaking this show? Are you nuts? Remaking shows a decade later is one thing. Remaking a British show in The USA, just failed. It might have worked for The Office. I didn’t like the original and I didn’t care for the American version. But Coupling?  That show is very British yet very universal. Still, it is impossible to recreate the comic chemistry and timing with other actors.

Coupling has actually a very simple premise. 3 women, 3 men. They have all dated or will date one another at some point. While the everlasting and the more sensible couple remains to be Susan and Steve, the conversations and events will have you crying out of laughter.

Because with coupling, romance takes a very backseat to comedy. It is about sex, relationships and the eccentricities of these 6 characters. While Susan (Sarah Alexander) and Steve (Jack Davenport) have less quirks, Jane (Gina Bellman), Sally (Kate Isitt), Jeff (Richard Coyle) and Patrick (Ben Miles) provide enough weirdness to make your day. And don’t even think Susan and Steve are any less hilarious.

What’s so special about these characters? Well, it is the script and the acting- but let me start with Jeff. I suspect that he is probably almost everyone’s favorite character. Any sane girl would want to date Steve. But Jeff is…entirely in a league of his own when it comes to advice, views and philosophies on dating. I’ll provide you with some of the Jeffisms. The show’s fans will have a great time remembering and others might realize they should watch this show at once. If you think Jeff’s not funny, you really don’t need to read the rest. Of course plain writing won’t do Richard Coyle any justice, but will give you a rough idea.

“Unflushable”:  Season 1, Episode 1 (These are terms coined by Jeff, not episode titles)

Jeff: (on Steve not being able to break up with girlfriend Jane): Steve..Do you know what I call this type of woman? You know, the one you can’t get rid of?

Steve: Is this going to be tasteless? Am I going to be ashamed to be your friend?

Jeff: It’s a technical term. A harmless expression.

Steve: Alright. Hit me.

Jeff: Unflushable.

Steve: Turn around and walk away, Jeff.

*The Zone: Season 1 Episode 1

Steve (on how Jane “made” him have sex with her): She just leans over, looks me in the eyes and says “I’m wearing stockings.”

Jeff: No!

Steve: She had never worn them before. Not once in the entire relationship. I’d begged!

Jeff: But, Steve, you are entitled to her stockings!

Steve: Am I?

Jeff: Yes! You’re still in the zone!

Steve: The what?

Jeff: The boyfriend zone! This is the telling off period. You still have a lot of stuff in her flat, you might still have a wedding to go to together and you’re under joint headings in your friends’ address books?

Steve: That means I’m entitled to see her underwear?

Jeff: If it comes up! That’s the rules of the zone. Good luck in there.

Steve: You are a strange and disturbing man, Jeff.

Jeff: Thank you.

* The Sock Gap: Season 1, Episode 2

Jeff: OK. Have you thought through your foreplay yet?

Steve: What do you mean foreplay?

Jeff: What do you think I mean? I mean when exactly do you take your socks off? My advice is to get them off right after your shoes and before your trousers..That’s the sock gap! Miss it, and suddenly you are a naked man in socks! No self-respecting woman will ever let a naked man in socks do the squealchy with her!

Patrick: That’s your foreplay tip? Socks?

Jeff: Many men have fallen through the sock gap, Patrick!

*The Reason for celebrity marriages: Season 1, Episode 2:

On thinking about somebody else during sex…

Susan: Is it absolutely necessary to think about somebody else?

Jeff: I mean everybody does. That’s why there are so many celebrity marriages. If you fantazise about somebody else during sex and so does your partner, and those two people you are fantasizing about  happen to meet while you are still doing it, they are bound to sense something, aren’t they? They are connectiong on like a virtual plane. So can you imagine what it was like when Posh first met Beckham? They were the epic center of a non-stop, nationwide virtual shag there! There is no wonder she got pregnant!

****

That’s Jeff for you. Oh, his gems are endless. The other are funny in different and original ways.

Jane loves creating stories about how she is a bisexual even when she is not, especially when she wants to excite a guy. She is very “unflushable”, persistant and downright weird. She is sort of attractive too, so her romantic life does get action, even though almost all her actions are mentally questionable. Sally is a beautician and loves youth. She freaks out at the idea of unnecessary smiles causing wrinkles on her skin, so she only smiles to single men, for instance.

Patrick thinks he is godsend to women. Even thought I can’t see what is particularly attractive about him, he is the one with many conquests. It is like Joey in Friends or Barney in How I Met Your Mother. It just works in the context of the story. And Steve…As cute as he is and comparably very normal and sweet compared to Jeff, he also has a tendency to freak out a lot, at the weirdest instances. And while Susan is normally the sexy, independent, sexually active woman every man dreams about, things change a bit when she is in a relationship. But then a relationship, especially a serious one, gets the best of almost anyone…

Sex and The City had a fairly female audience. In Coupling, you get the best jokes about sex, weirdest and most original dialogues about dating (thanks to the writers and Jeff), funny situations, physical comedy and more. The area that it is superior to Sex and The City is that it is purely funny with no drama involved and it includes lots of reality for both men and women. Like when Sally overhears Jeff trying to give Steve advice on foreplay, she is taken aback. She asks “Do they know about that”. And of course, they don’t…What Jeff means is that Steve shouldn’t be late to take his socks off and that he should call -whoever he fantasizes about sex- Susan. So there won’t be hell to pay if he says another girl’s name… Now, these two shows are very different in format and genre and I wouldn’t give up on either. But it is nice to have such a hilarious yet truthful sitcom on relationships where you can sit with friends of both sexes and laugh together…

Coupling on Amazon. com

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: Ben Miles, comedy, Coupling, dating, Jack Davenport, Kate Isitt and Gina Bellman, relationships, Richard Coyle, Sarah Alexander, sex, sitcom, TV shows

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