Movies at the Library features a film about ambition, family, love & guilt

Miles Franklin was only 16 when she wrote her debut novel, “My Brilliant Career.” Despite her youth, critics praised the work as “glistening with precocious wisdom.” Set in the 1890s in misogynist rural Australia, the novel was withdrawn from publication shortly after its release. But it was re-published in 1966 and has never since been out of print.

The 1979 movie adaptation, if anything, expanded the novel’s popularity. It also launched two additional remarkable careers: It was Gillian Armstrong’s (“Little Women”) directorial debut and Judy Davis’ (“A Passage to India”) break-out performance as a major movie star.

The film tells the story of Sybylla Melvyn, a young woman whose mother’s unwise marriage has left her daughter to grow up in straitened circumstances. Even as a young girl, Sybylla knows that she must escape the stifling life of Possum Gully if she is to give expression to the “hot wild spirit” within her.

At 18, she is sent to live with her wealthy grandmother and an aunt. Neither is exactly an advocate of female independence and/or the unconventional, self-determined behavior in which their new charge routinely engages. Indeed, Grandma’s sole ambition is to see that Sybylla marries higher up the social scale than her foolish mother.

But Sybylla has other ideas. Quite firm ones. She wants to be a writer — an Outback Jane Austen or Louisa May Alcott.

What follows takes us into the heart of a very complex young woman. She is bemused by and dubious about the role her grandmother, aunt and mother expect her to play in life. But she is fascinated by it as well. Though she’s meant to be “plain,” she has no trouble attracting the attention of bachelors her grandmother deems “suitable.” Indeed, Sybylla has to fend them off.

She also takes the eye of handsome Harry Beecham (Sam Neill), who is socially well above her and thus, as her grandmother warns, can never marry the likes of Sybylla. But with flashing eyes and beguilingly wicked smile, feisty Sybylla swirls him into an affair.

Will she accept his proposal of marriage? Or will she toss Harry to the vultures? Will independence and creativity win? Or will she give in to the temptation of having Grandma’s approval and the love of an estimable and adoring man?

No feminist doctrinal tract here. Instead, ambition, family, love and guilt vie for Sybylla’s soul. Harry assures her that he’d be delighted to see her pursue her dream of a career. She knows he loves her for her intelligence, originality and boundless energy. And she loves him. But …

“My Brilliant Career” was nominated for the Palme D’Or at Cannes and for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. It won the BAFTA for Judy Davis and swept the Australian Film Institute’s awards for best film, director, screenplay, actress and cinematography. Sybylla, one critic remarked, is like Australia itself, “rambunctious, headstrong and determined to make a mark.”

Certainly this film is confidently directed, with assured, nuanced performances and exceptional cinematography. The soundtrack features Judy Davis playing the piano; the music is Schumann’s “Scenes from Childhood.” Small wonder it made the American Film Institute’s list of 1,000 movies you should see before you die.

“My Brilliant Career” runs 100 minutes and is in color. It will be shown downstairs in the Community Room at the Shelter Island Public Library at 7 p.m. on April 14. Please join us for this charming film.

Bring a pal. You’ll both enjoy this one.