Saw My Brilliant Career, an Australian romance set in the Edwardian period. It's about Sybylla, a pretentious but self-assured girl vs the world. This being the late 1800s, the issue of marriage looms heavy in the sky, providing a comfortable, unchallenging, acceptable ending. Therefore, it's not exactly a romance but the push and pull of self vs society, self vs another is the heart of this film. Romance is the subject here, not the goal.
It's a very interesting film. It defies easy classification as anything other than a drama. There's little in the way of action and a lot of restrained people gasping at the protagonist's refusal to compromise (especially to compromise a part of herself.) The film also doesn't celebrate the protagonist. She's sometimes foolish and mean. It's as though someone from modern times were born into Edwardian society. Normally I consider that to be a deep fault in a period piece because often when you have some character righteously shouting about slavery or sexism or what have you, they don't suffer for it. In this film, meanwhile, Sybylla is plagued with quiet self-doubt (or if she is not, we the viewer are let to be.) Is she really being selfish? Is she being honest or cruel?
A complex little film, I think I haven't fully got it nailed down yet. At any rate, I think if you love the historical romantic movies based on Jane Austen, you should check this out. It's an interestingly fresh perspective.
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