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Clip description
David Meredith (Matt Day) visits his brother Jack Meredith (Simon Lyndon) who is at an army training camp before being sent off to fight the great fight in some foreign land. Tragedy strikes, just as David is discussing his brother’s future with Major Brinsmead (David Bradshaw), Jack’s commanding officer.
Curator’s notes
So why is this story called My Brother Jack?. This clip gives us an inkling. As Davey says, Jack is 'different’ and by that he doesn’t mean different to other Australians. On the contrary, Davey feels that Jack is the quintessential Australian man; physically strong, virile, courageous, always prepared to 'give it a go’. In fact, everything that he, Davey, is not. Here we see Jack in his element, preparing to go to war, but whereas Davey would eulogise the Anzac tradition and fighting for one’s way of life, Jack is far more honest. He is going, like many others did, for the sheer adventure of it, for the challenge he feels we were all born to meet and spend our lives looking for. Simon Lyndon in a masterful performance exudes this authenticity of character, this certainty of who he is that Davey envies so much in his brother.
Even later, when the accident we see at the end of this clip ironically deprives Jack of that chance to prove his manhood, he is able to work his way out of the shame he feels and accept his lot with no loss of dignity or self-esteem. There is a further irony, nicely written, in that Davey, master of the slick phrase, is virtually tongue-tied in the face of real emotion and can come up with nothing more colourful than 'miserable pongy bastard’ to express his affection for Jack. On the other hand Jack would have been embarrassed had Davey been more eloquent, so it was the right thing to say after all. Superficially anyway, David Meredith always seems to fall on his feet, something he doesn’t understand and feels he doesn’t deserve.
