Blue Jean, 2022.
Written and Directed by Georgia Oakley.
Starring Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun, Amy Booth-Steel, Aoife Kennan, Scott Turnbull, Farrah Cave. Lainey Shaw, Izzy Neish, Dexter Heads, Becky Lindsay, Ellen Gowland, Gavin Kitchen, Maya Torres, Deka Walmsley, Edmund Wiseman, Kylie Ann Ford, Emily Fairweather, Elizabeth Shaw, Kate Soulsby, Isla Bowles, Oliver Maratty Quinn, and George Kasfikis.
SYNOPSIS:
In 1988, a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality.
Teachers are more often than not invisibly tasked with doing more than educating. In writer/director Georgia Oakley’s Blue Jean, Rosy McEwen is the titular Jean, a PE instructor who happens to be a lesbian in 1988 London hiding her sexuality, a time when stigmatization against homosexuality is on the rise, as countless radio feeds and television news elaborate on.
Naturally, Jean shields her sexuality from everyone in her private life, including her sister and mother she stopped seeing some time ago. Meanwhile, her romantic partner Viv (Kerrie Hayes) is more outspoken and comfortable laying out her sexuality for everyone else to judge, regardless of the consequences. They regularly meet up with a group of lesbian friends at a bar most nights and generally have a good time before returning home to express their love to one another physically.
Friction and complications are rising between them due to Rosy’s understandable feelings of needing to hide her sexuality, especially since it would mean the end of a job she loves if anyone found out (all of her coworkers at the school are extremely close-minded). However, the arrival of a new student, 15-year-old Lois (Lucy Halliday), is about to indirectly escalate that arguing, as she is also a lesbian or someone feels betrayed by Jean’s disinterest in showing solidarity and support once all is revealed. She’s rightfully concerned about teacher-student boundaries and losing her job, but even more fearful of society learning her true sexuality.
And while Blue Jean certainly has somewhat of a slow start, it quickly builds into a riveting drama about how hard it is to do the right thing and sometimes to take on more than what’s required of you as a person and your job as a profession to ensure fellow individuals of marginalized groups under attack are safe and have someone they can confide in. The film also looks at how such bigoted legislation is harmful and sometimes forces people within those communities to stand by silently, not because they don’t care but because the consequences are too dire.
Meanwhile, Lois is met with much harassment and bullying by the other girls, especially in the changing room after PE classes. The script is sharp and insightful overall, succinctly who these people are and how these events affect them, but there does seem to be a fourth character here worth fleshing out a bit more, as one of the girls appears to be a closeted bully. Aspects of the third act, including the ending, also feel rushed.
Still, the stakes in Blue Jean continue to rise as characters confront one another and sometimes make mistakes, revealing their flawed humanity (Rosy McEwen and Lucy Halliday are terrific at expressing the inner turmoil their characters are going through) but with empathy. Sadly, much of what is here is still timely and relevant to modern-day life. Apparently, history does repeat itself, and often for the worse. Compelling drama aside, Blue Jean should be an important reminder of what systemic oppression does and how crucial it is for people in these communities to stand behind and uplift one another.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
