Blue Jean (2022)

When creating a feature debut, choosing something you know very well is the best thing to do. A topic you’re passionate about and know from the inside out will probably result in a film that’s made with even more passion and knowledge. For her debut film, director Georgia Oakley takes you back to 1980s England, to 1988, to be precise.

It wasn’t only Oakley’s birth year but also the year in which Margaret Thatcher’s homophobic and extremely conservative government introduced Section 28, which punished the ‘promotion of homosexuality.’ While the section was lifted in 2003, there’s still a lot of work to do regarding inclusivity and acceptance towards LGBTQ+ people. With this honest, and must-see debut feature, Oakley shows us that we need to go forward and can never return to those dark 80s.

That section 28 goes much further than the law states is something that Jean (Rosy McEwen) experiences daily. As a gay P.E. teacher, she can’t fully be her true self because “any person who works for an institution, inclusive schools, can lose his or her job when coming out as a gay person”. This results in an obstructive relationship with her colleagues.

Still, luckily for her, Jean has a fantastic group of friends, including her girlfriend Viv (Kerrie Hayes), with whom she can hang out at the local gay bar. Yes, it has to happen discretely, but it gives her a sense of belonging, normality and comfort. However, that normality is about to end when a new pupil joins her netball team. She instantly feels protective towards Lois (Lucy Halliday), especially when she’s bullied because of her tomboy appearance. That feeling grows even more when one night Lois appears in the gay bar, and both women know about their orientation.

The bullying continues, and while Jean could intervene, it could also mean she could be fired. She can’t stand up for this young girl and generally also for the LGBTQ+ community without losing her job. This has a significant impact on her professional and personal life. How will Jean be able to cope with this?

In this movie, Jean faces an immense amount of dilemmas. She can’t protect the pupil without consequences and/or outing herself. She’s still figuring out who she’s while her girlfriend Viv has already found herself, and while Jean wants to be open in public, she knows her family will never accept her.

The biggest dilemma is the one about choosing between herself and her pupils. “To protect the kids”, Jean has to stay hidden cause otherwise, her being gay might “negatively influence the children” (society’s words, not ours). Sadly, she’s not the only one who faces that problem. Even now, many conservative people are lobbying against gay rights because “gay people have a bad influence on the kids”. Sometimes it feels like we are in 1988 and not in 2023.

What makes this movie a must-see feature is the stunning lead performance by McEwen (“Vesper”, “The Letter Writer”). Her knock-out acting grips you from the first second and never lets you go. Whether it’s the joyful and vibrant highs or the incredibly heartbreaking lows, you can feel every emotion Jean is going through and let us tell you, there are many interwoven in this movie!

Those emotions and the up-close feeling are being heightened even more thanks to the close-ups and soft blues by cinematographer Victor Seguin (“Full Time”, “Gagarine”). While the scenes between Jean and Viv don’t always have the necessary impact due to the rigid and awkward conversations, Hayes’ (“Nowhere Boy”, “Good Cop”) acting is still strong, emotional and sometimes also very funny. She certainly brings a lot of light to the dark times the gay community is going through.

The 80s vibe is stunningly brought to life, and those who lived through the era will certainly recognize those graffiti-covered bathrooms, dark bars, and, sadly, the troublesome times the 80s were. Luckily, music heals all the wounds, and that’s certainly the case here too. The score by composer Chris Roe (“Lancaster”, “After Love”) certainly adds a lot of drama to the film and perfectly complements the very carefully curated soundtrack. And yes, “Blue Monday” by New Order is a must-have in movies like this.

When watching “Blue Jean”, you wouldn’t think this is a debut feature. The struggle a queer woman faces in a straight society that keeps on getting even straighter is brought to the screen so elegantly, stunningly and brutally honest. We can’t wait to see what Oakley and McEwen do next!