The Beauty of Blue Jean

That’s it. I’ve found it – your next beautiful film obsession. It's yet another period piece, but I promise it’s worth it this time. I’m introducing you to one of the most equally cinematic and riveting films I’ve seen in a long time. But first, some backstory.

Section 28, a law enacted in the U.K. from 1988-2003, banned the "promotion of the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship." The law was widely criticized for its impact on LGBTQ+ individuals, especially in schools where it was thought to be fostering a homophobic atmosphere and prohibiting educators from offering assistance to LGBTQ+ students. The 2023 film Blue Jean is a story based on the lives of the many closeted teachers in the late 80s when this law had just taken its full effect. Winning best lead performance at the British Independent Film Awards, Rosy McEwen plays Jean, a lesbian PE teacher who struggles with being bold about who she loves when she is confronted with a new student who looks up to her. Throughout the movie, her world starts to fall apart when this student becomes a threat to her secret sexuality. In a recent relationship with Viv, played by Kerrie Hayes, a more “out” lesbian than her, we see Jean struggle to bridge the gap between the parts of her life that seemingly aren’t allowed to connect. Blue Jean follows a time in Jean’s life when she is faced with several difficult decisions to make. Will she risk her job to love someone? What kind of life will her closeted students live if she chooses to stay silent in order to protect herself?

The story is told through Jean’s eyes, literally. The emotion in this film is conveyed powerfully through the moments we see Jean’s expressions and reactions to the world around her. A few times, she has entire conversations by just looking at someone. We can feel her energy and read her emotions as she struggles with her choices throughout the story. Though these moments of pain are seen, beautiful moments of freedom are displayed throughout the movie. As Jean rides on the back of a motorcycle, we see her close her eyes and soak in the moment. The audience can see her affection for her lover and her contentment with being herself - a ray of hope amidst the situation.

What I admire about this movie is that it isn’t just simply a “coming out” movie like so many Queer films are. The most powerful testament to love is seen in how Jean struggles with loving and accepting herself. Because it’s based on a true story, Jean is a complex protagonist who doesn’t always make the right choices we are rooting for her to make. What makes the film the most powerful is how Jean also struggles with her choices.

In particular, this poignancy shines brightly in a scene towards the end of the film, where we are left with the hopeful feeling of starting over. Jean has just hit rock bottom, and we can see it in the way that her world quiets down. After getting too drunk and leaving a man speechless by declaring she’s a lesbian at her nephew’s birthday party (we’ve all been there), she walks away. Here is when the sun shines down on Jean. Half-laughing and half-crying, Rosy McEwen gives a brilliant performance of her character’s journey to accepting herself.

Blue Jean is an adult coming-of-age movie and a healing place for so many, including the teachers whose lives it represents. Director Georgia Oakley brilliantly crafts this true story of love, freedom, and our impact on those around us. The portrait of these two women’s love and the movement going on around them is simply beautiful and revolutionary to watch on the big screen. As it turns out, this work is not only an homage to those closeted teachers of the 1980s but a testament to beauty and freedom all over the world.

Strike Out,

Writer: Paris Feazell

Editor: Blake N. Fiadino

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