Movie Rave: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

I remember seeing clips of this movie wayyyy back in 2006 on the Hallmark Channel and have been meaning to watch the whole thing. I recently developed a love for Romola Garai who I had seen perform marvelously in other period dramas, like Daniel Deronda, Angel and Emma.

When I got to watch this movie at last, I was so happy I did. It is seriously one of the best period dramas/historical adventure movies I have ever seen. I was literally GLUED to my seat, so into the story I didn’t take note of the time! I think it was also because the movie itself was so fast-paced, it didn’t leave time for the viewer to relax! Romola outdoes herself here as a young English convict who would do anything to be free. The story is based on true events and revolves around her attempt to escape from her prison on what would later be Australia.

The acting overall was brilliant, the settings were beautiful and realistic, the story was unpredictable and intriguing, but I have to say the best part of the whole show was Jack Davenport who plays a British naval officer who Mary uses to escape.He did a brilliant job acting as the man who falls for Mary and wants to help her despite her being ‘the enemy’ so to speak. I felt so bad for him and was just so hooked on his complicated character. I really wanted him and Mary to end up together.

The story was also very inspiring as we discover at the start that Romola’s character wasn’t a villain and was just doing whatever she could to survive harsh circumstances. Her determiniation to survive was inspring and although I didn’t agree with some of the things she did, she would never have survived if she hadn’t. She was really someone who did whatever it took and it led to her finally escaping!

Overall, this was an amazing drama, truly top-notch. I’m not sure how accurate the story was, but it was so well-told, I couldn’t help but love it. It stayed with me long after I saw it and I’m dying to see it once more! If you ever get the chance to watch this, do! You won’t regret it!

Historical Drama Rating: 5 out 5!

Sexiness Rating: 5 out 5-Seriously, with the two leading men being Jack Davenport and Alex O’Loughlin, how can you go wrong? (And guys, Romola Garai is simply lovely here )