A punk rock ‘Bridgerton’
Dear Watchers,It may be reductive to compare the Australian drama “My Brilliant Career” to “Bridgerton,” but it’s impossible to ignore the similarities. Both are Netflix productions. Both are period pieces that focus on romantic entanglements and secrets kept for the sake of social propriety. Both feature diverse casting in prominent roles. And both focus on young women forced to audition for suitors because a suitable husband is the most viable path to financial security. “Bridgerton” and “My Brilliant Career” also share something else in common: delightfully anachronistic soundtracks that give these historical series a contemporary resonance. But if “Bridgerton” has bubble-gum pop vibes, “My Brilliant Career,” debuting Thursday, is spiritually much more punk rock. Adapted by Liz Dolan (“Please Like Me”) from the 1901 novel by Miles Franklin, “My Brilliant Career” is rooted in a spirit of rebellion. Its protagonist is Sybylla Melville (an incandescent Philippa Northeast), an aspiring writer and the eldest daughter in a poor family. She is suddenly invited to move to Caddagat, the estate owned by her wealthy grandmother (Anna Chancellor), a woman Sybylla didn’t know existed. Sybylla is expected to debut in society, partly so she can provide some income to her financially struggling parents and siblings. But her deepest wishes are to write professionally and to enjoy an existence free from society’s expectations about what a woman is supposed to be. The last thing she wants is to get married. When she falls in love anyway — of course she does — with a wealthy Chinese Australian man (Christopher Chung), she does so in spite of herself. Northeast embodies these conflicting desires beautifully, exuding an irrepressible lust for life. When Sybylla, who has never seen the ocean, slurps down an oyster for the first time, expressions of curiosity, disgust and pleasure break in waves across the actress’s face. Her performance makes you root for her both to fall in love and to fight against that instinct with every fiber in her creative, independent being. If this sounds like something you’ve seen before, not only in “Bridgerton” but also in countless Jane Austen adaptations and other period romances, that’s because you have. But when these kinds of stories are told well, they can still feel fresh, even revelatory. “My Brilliant Career” is told very well. Its South Australian locations shimmer. The soundtrack, featuring female artists like Wet Leg, the Last Dinner Party and Australia’s own Amyl and the Sniffers, is surprising and fun. And Northeast seems born to play this role. When Sybylla stages a one-woman show for her grandmother and her guests at Caddagat, one of her potential suitors declares afterward: “A new star is born.” Indeed. Also this week
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