Character Review From the Movie Australia: Lady Sarah Ashley

In this movie Australia, Lady Ashley (starring Nicole Kidman) who was English aristocrat who soon found herself inherited a cattle ranch, Faraway Downs Farm after the death of her husband, Sir Maitland Ashley. Lady Ashley was portrayed as a lady with strong and determined traits. After discovering Fletcher’s (David Wenham) attempt to gain control of her ranch, she fired him and decided to run the ranch herself even though she did not have any slightest clue as how to do so. Being a lady, she loathed the negative perception when people looked down upon her. This prompted her to prove that she was as good as many other men. She even took the extra miles to help Drover (Hugh Jackman) to drive the cattle. Quote by her: “A woman? I suppose you think I should be back in Darwin, at the church fete or a lady's whatever you call it. Well I will have you know, I am as capable as any man”. Every woman longs for a man’s love. Being a dazzling young woman with blonde shouldered length hair, curvy body shape, tall and complete with sparkling eyes, she managed to capture Drover’s heart. Despite being strong willed like any other men, she had some womanly characteristic within her. Starting of the story, she was seen walking down the wharf with men carrying luggage behind her. Next, there was also a scene where Lady Ashley wearing glasses, a hat with a net around it, gloves, and everything else that made her looked overdressed for the heat and outback, sitting in an overloaded trunk. Although she never had a child, her motherly instinct was shown throughout the movie. Ashley had demonstrated her affection to Nullah (by Brandon Walters), a half cast. She tried her best to prevent the whites to place Nullah in a mission place in their attempts to phase out culture. She too made an issue of a child working at 3 a.m. and volunteered to take Nullah’s shift but was being ignored. When Nullah told her that King George wanted him to go on a walkabout, in order to become a man, she strongly disagreed with the idea. At the end of the story, she finally agreed to let Nullah go for his walkabout, to the path of manhood. As conclusion from the movie we can see that a lady can still be soft and gentle with her womanly ways but she can also take on the responsibility befitting a man that is to run a cattle ranch.