‘Blue Jean’ Review: No Privacy in the Girls’ Locker Room
In 1987, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, addressed public panic over children’s library books, stating at the Conservative Party conference, “Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.” Thatcher’s views were quickly adopted into the British legal code, and in 1988, the government prohibited the promotion of homosexuality in school. The film “Blue Jean” sets its story in this repressive period. Broadcasts of Thatcher’s proclamations blare in the background as the movie’s protagonist, Jean (Rosy McEwen), traverses between her life as a lesbian and her life as a high school gym teacher.
When the film begins, Jean has already gone to the trouble of getting divorced and of coming out to her barely tolerant family. Her hair is bleached and her clothes are masculine, but she is still establishing a life for herself as a queer person. By contrast, Jean is in love with Viv (Kerrie Hayes), an out lesbian with a buzz cut and punk clothes. Viv is at ease with herself and other gay people. Viv’s many friends cast a slightly suspicious eye on Jean, as a jumpy newcomer to the lesbian club.
Jean appears more confident in the classroom. As a teacher, her demeanor is as cheekily frosty as her hair color. She maintains firm boundaries with her adolescent charges, insisting on promptness in the locker room and easily shrugging off any youthful insubordination.
Source: The New York Times
