Blue Jean

This film had a plot line that was like a documentary piece of 1980s Britain, in particular the whole 'Section 28' legislation using a PE teacher, Jean and her experiences in the period. How times (although the 1980s still seems relatively recent to me!) have moved on with the repealing of the said legislation in 2003. The whole intricacies of the said legislation is freely available to study elsewhere, this is strictly a review of the film I watched.

The film was shot on 16mm film and like other films using this medium it gives it a documentary type feel to proceedings or so I think.

It compares favourably with the 1980s timeframe of the story and other films of that period such as Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987). The film also demonstrates the 1980s sound of synthesizers and beats from pop music of the time.

The cast put in excellent performances in conveying the bleakness of the whole story and can only be commended for their work on such a low budget film, which the U. K. seems to excel at producing.

Blue Jean presents to us the struggles of a woman who is trying to blend into the heteronormative world during a time where homosexuals were politically vilified and othered, whilst trying to protect her position and integrity as a teacher.

It deals with more than just the base subject matter of what could be seen as a run-of-the-mill exploration of what it was/is like to live in a world like this where the politicalisation of a person's nature is used against them in order to misdirect the general public from actual issues of the times.

It delicately portrays the effects that it has on Jean, and by proxy, others, who internalises the prejudices which they experience, and how this behaviour affects how she not only treats herself - by isolating herself from the world at large, but also how she treats those closest to her while she sees that others within the community accepts themselves and lives openly without shame, albeit by not having, what could be seen as, white collared jobs.

Caught within the crossfire of Jean struggling to accept her nature is Lois, a student of Jean's, who is being bullied for reasons which you can surmise... Leading Jean to abandon Lois in a time of need.

The movie, for me, falls just short of having a cathartic release, but it highlights the relief that a person can have by coming to terms with their own nature, and righting the wrongs that they have caused, even if in part. As well as the importance of having a close and supportive community.

Solid performances from the entire cast makes this movie feel real. It reflects the life that people lived and continues to live. A worthwhile watch, as it is also a reflection of the time that we live in now.

It wasn't all that long ago when the LGBTQ+ community not only didn't have legal protections for its rights, but also faced blatant discrimination against its constituents, prejudiced initiatives aimed at denying them equal treatment under the law and even subjecting them to lawfully sanctioned ostracism. This was true even in "civilized" and "progressive" societies like those found in North America and Europe. And it prompted individuals to live in fear of losing their jobs and leaving them open to ridicule without ramifications, not to mention disrespect and mistrust from their own families. Those chilling conditions are ominously brought to light in this period piece drama set in the UK in the late 1980s, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government sought the passage of Section 28, legislation aimed at prohibiting activities openly promoting homosexuality, a bill carrying wide-sweeping implications for the LGBTQ+ community. Many of its constituents, like a young lesbian physical education teacher (Rosy McEwen), retreated into the closet to keep out of sight. But those efforts derailed whatever social progress had been made, damaging those individuals' self-esteem and creating a divisive schism between those who vociferously demanded justice and those who chose to keep a low profile to protect themselves, as evidenced by the experiences of the teacher and her out and proud girlfriend (Kerrie Hayes). Writer-director Georgia Oakley's debut feature does a fine (if somewhat predictable) job of illustrating this rift and the effects it had on both the public and personal lives of these people, an effort that earned the film a 2022 BAFTA Award nomination for Best Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Admittedly, the picture's opening act meanders a bit, but, once it gets on track, when the emergence of various damning revelations threatens to blow things wide open, it steadily grows more powerful and heartfelt, qualities supported by the fine performances of the cast, solid writing, and its skillfully crafted atmospheric cinematography and production design. It also provides viewers with a potent cautionary tale about the effects of initiatives like Section 28 (which was in force from 1988 to 2003) and the parallels to this legislation that are currently under consideration in various US jurisdictions. It effectively shows us how Jean became so blue - and how we should seek to prevent the same from happening to the rest of us.

"Jean" (Rosy McEwan) is a physical education teacher at a school in Northern Engand. Privately, she is having a relationship with the out and proud "Viv" (Kerrie Hayes) but the emphasis here is very much on the "privately" - something that her confident girlfriend struggles to comprehend. When "Lois" (Lucy Halliday) joins her netball class, then runs into her in a bar later, things become complicated for "Jean" and the remainder of the film illustrates just a short segment of her troubled life as her pupils start to put two and two together and mischief and malevolence rears their very ugly heads. As a gay lad who lived at the time I am actually a little tired of films that make out that "Thatcher" was some alien space invader sent by God to cleanse society. The views of her government represented massive numbers of people in Britain - across the political spectrum - who were terrified about the perceived adverse influences on children of what they saw as "permissive" practices. Rather than acknowledge these concerns as legitimate (at the time) and put some national context into this story, this film really only takes a couple of people whose relationship never comes across as especially strong anyway, and try to make a greater political point. To have been successful there, balance is essential. The underlying plot issues are potent, but they are not developed anywhere near enough to create substantial characters and instead offer us a rather undercooked swipe at a system that was as broadly representative then as it is not (thankfully) now. The production is all a bit basic and though McEwan offers us a considered performance and the film is certainly worth watching, I had really hoped for something just a bit deeper and stronger.

I often cheer for movies like Blue Jean. They are important in a response to the big lavish entertainment films. But I can't quite get the hang of this particular film.

This is a film about LGBT history, with a main character set in 80s Britain with Thatcher's controversial No Clause 28 legislation as a backdrop. As a gym teacher, she experiences challenges in living out who she really is, in the face of society's view of gays and queers. Important topic. But we have seen this before, and in my opinion also seen it portrayed better before.

In this film, a lot is very good, the era is depicted well. The main character in the film is good in the role of a person who has to make important and not least right choices for herself. But on the way there she makes a lot of strange choices. In particular, her handling of her job as a teacher in meeting with the students is not very credible in my opinion. I think the narrative stagnates in the descriptions of her anguish and doubts. The film does not get out of a rut, and the main character becomes somewhat one-dimensional and I think it became less engaging as time went on.

The film is still not bad, and has a fantastic amount of good 80s music as a soundtrack.