Jean Movie 2022 Review

In 1988, a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality.

Director Georgia Oakley
Writer Georgia Oakley
Stars Rosy Mc Ewen Kerrie Hayes Lucy Halliday

Storyline
England, 1988 – Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians, forcing Jean, a gym teacher, to live a double life. As pressure mounts from all sides, the arrival of a new girl at school catalyses a crisis that will challenge Jean to her core.

Details

Release date 2023 (United States)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language English
Also known as Blue jean
Production companies Kleio Films BBC Film BFI Film Fund

At the 1987 Conservative Party conference in Britain, then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher published one of the darkest quotes of her career: “Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values ​​will be taught to that they have an inalienable right to be gay. . . . For many of us, it’s a line that seems so out of touch with contemporary life now that it’s comical — that “inalienable The phrase “right-wing” is ironically used by many right-wingers – even though they only think of the recent Dawn in Florida. Don’t ask the gay bill to know that Thatcher’s sentiments are still there. Alive among us. British author-

The year is 1988, and Thatcher’s government has recently enacted the infamous Section 28 Act, which instructed UK public schools to “encourage teaching about acceptance of homosexuality as a family relationship”. Don’t get discouraged.” Feeding on the current AIDS panic, the Tories chastised the Labor Party for supporting gay rights. He made this kind of endorsed homophobia a key point in his successful 1987 campaign. With a subtle, focused look at social etiquette and loose conversational cues, “Blue Jean” portrays a country where such hatred has been slowly mainstreamed.

For most of the employees at struggling Tyneside State School, where young divorcee Jane (Rosy McEwen) works as a gym teacher, Section 28 makes little difference to how they run their businesses. . Aside from a few anti-gay jokes among students, the topic hardly ever comes up. For Jane, however, the decision split her life in two. She marks a new chapter in her life at the start of the film with a bleach blonde hairline reminiscent of mid-80s Bowie (like the film’s title) and more recently friends and family. comes out as gay when his sister cautiously treats his identity as some sort of unspoken secret.

Although the film feels a little safe in describing Jane’s sex life and sexual identity, its portrayal of a proud communal, working-class gay scene feels warm and lived-in – a relative rarity in British cinema. Not to mention, which probably explains it. Much of the UK’s anti-gay legislation is far more generous in presenting a queer male perspective of oppression and oppression. Section 28 was, of course, less specific in its blanket distinction, but Oakley’s small but powerfully balanced film doesn’t shoot for a blurry overall picture. Instead