At first I thought I was going to hate My Brilliant Career. At the very beginning the main character comes off as being very pompous and narcissistic. However, as the movie goes one adapts- and even understands such an attitude. Sybylla is cast from all three levels of societal income; from living in middle class, to visiting her wealthy aunt (all the while pampered like a baby) and even forced to becoming a servant to a poor family. What make Sybylla an interesting character is refusal to give up. Throughout the entire movie she insists that she's not going to get married- she going to have career instead. This may not sound odd at all by today's standards- but the movie takes place in 1897, back when women were treated as if they were objects, with everything decided for them (as the movie clearly illustrates). Even when she's proposed to by a wealthy man (Frank) and practically offered a life of leisure and prosperity, being the very independent young woman she is, gives up the offer, laughing at the very idea of marrying a man for money and not love. While Sybylla herself does not change much, it's interesting to see how other characters develop as they deal with her personal thoughts and attitudes. What was unfortunate about my viewing of the film was that it was on VHS. The aspect ratio was cut so there was a loss of images and the picture quality was just plain fuzzy. I guess we'll just have to wait for the DVD release.