A lovely, beautifully acted first feature that launched both Judy Davis, who is amazing in this, and director Gillian Armstrong.

Its lost a little something revisiting it after all these years. While it's feminist ideals are inspiring and handled with complexity, there's a certain lack of emotion to it. We don't really get the deep bitter-sweetness of choosing loneliness over loss of self.

Also, that the film forces that choice seems a bit disingenuous. Nothing about Sam Neil's character that suggests he would repress our heroine – indeed he clearly loves her for the free spirit she is. To really have her need to make an either/or decision 'work' we'd need to go further into the relationship and her psychology.

Last, a number of the supporting roles tend towards clichés about both the upper and lower class. And that oversimplifying takes something away from the complex character Davis builds.

But all that said, there are beautiful images and magical moments. It just didn't quite hold up to my memories of first seeing it 30 years ago. But if you've never seen it, you still certainly should.

An impossibly young Judy Davis is the star of "My Brilliant Career" - the movie that started hers - a 1979 film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The story concerns Sybylla, growing up in the 1890s in the wilds of Australia who wants more from her life than marriage. She is sent to live with her grandmother, where relatives tame her wild hair, soften her coarse skin, but can't do anything about her spirit. Though she falls for a wealthy young man (Sam Neil), she is true to what her heart tells her, desiring most of all to be a writer and an independent person.

Davis does a wonderful job as Sybylla who, although headstrong, manages to make the best of whatever situation she's in. What a life for women back then. Her family can't afford to keep her, so there is pressure on her to marry or take a position. Living with her grandmother affords her some great opportunities for a better life. But when her father owes a local farmer money, she is sent to teach his illiterate children in order to work off the loan. Somehow, she turns that into a positive experience - though when you see the beginning scenes of her life there, you won't imagine she ever could. Sam Neil is very attractive and romantic as Harry, who endeavors to understand this unusual woman.

Beautifully photographed, "My Brilliant Career" is nevertheless no big, sweeping epic, and the focus stays on Sybylla, her challenges, and her determination to be, in every sense, ahead of her time.

Determined to have a career and not just be a housewife like so many women of her generation, a headstrong young lady in 1890s rural Australia rebuffs marriage proposals and ignores advice of how to act ladylike in this critically acclaimed drama starring Judy Davis. The film wears its pro-feminist heart on its sleeve, however, it impressively shies away from being angry about the situation for women at the time with Davis more often painted as a hopeless dreamer than a subjugated hero wanting to break free. One's mileage with the film is, however, likely to vary depending upon how one relates to the Davis character. There is certainly a lot to like in the almost childlike dreams she has for a career in the arts, but she more often comes across as confused and uncertain than ambitious and set on changing her fortunes. Several of her not-so-ladylike actions (sitting in trees where men can see up her skirt; pillow fighting) also come across as more whimsical than rebellious and it is harder to cheer on someone just being themselves than someone with a set agenda and values that they are intent on adhering to. It is a minor quibble perhaps, and with accurate period sets and Oscar nominated costumes, the film certainly captures the flavour of rural Australia very well. Sam Neill also has a nice, understated performance as a man who Davis briefly has a romantic fling with and Wendy Hughes is solid as her spinster aunt who has trouble reigning her in, but relating to the main character seems to be key in appreciating what the film has to offer.