Blue Jean (film)
Blue Jean is a 2022 British drama film written and directed by Georgia Oakley, in her directorial debut. It stars Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes and Lucy Halliday.
| Blue Jean | |
|---|---|
_resize.png.webp) Release poster | |
| Directed by | Georgia Oakley |
| Written by | Georgia Oakley |
| Produced by | Hélène Sifre |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Victor Seguin |
| Edited by | Izabella Curry |
| Music by | Chris Roe, Stavros Papanikolaou |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Altitude Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $693,331[2][3] |
The film premiered on 3 September 2022 at the Venice Film Festival and was released in cinemas on 10 February 2023.
Plot
In Newcastle in 1988, Jean is a PE teacher at a secondary school. On her way to work, she hears a news broadcast about the proposed Section 28 legislation, but switches it off. At school, she is reserved and closeted, and lies to her coworkers to avoid socialising with them after work. She regularly visits a gay bar with her friends and girlfriend Viv.
While Viv is at Jean's flat, Jean tries to watch Blind Date, while Viv refuses, declaring it to be anti-gay propaganda. Jean's sister arrives unannounced and asks her to look after her son, Sam. Jean hides Viv's presence from her sister and downplays their relationship to Sam, which angers Viv.
A new student, Lois, arrives at school. Later, Jean and Lois recognise each other in the gay bar, but do not exchange words or acknowledge the meeting later. Lois gains a sudden interest in netball and joins Jean's netball team, where she clashes with another student, Siobhan. Lois also spends more time at the bar, and befriends Jean's friendship group. Jean confronts her and tells her to stay away, warning her that she could lose her job at the school if she is outed. Viv sees Jean and Lois exiting the toilets, and leaves in anger, firstly believing that Jean is cheating on her. Jean confesses to Viv about how she knows Lois, and Viv responds by telling Jean that she is setting a poor example for her students.
Jean visits her sister for Sunday lunch, where she sees a photograph of her from her wedding day. She asks her sister to take the photograph down, and her sister reveals that she knows that Jean is a lesbian.
Jean's boss Paula finds a copy of a lesbian magazine on Jean's desk, left there by somebody else, and Jean assumes that Lois is responsible. Siobhan provokes Lois after a game of netball, and the two students fight. After Jean breaks the fight up, Siobhan kisses Lois in the shower, which Jean sees, but Siobhan claims that Lois assaulted her. Despite knowing this to be a lie, Jean goes along with it, and Lois is suspended.
Jean tries to apologise to Viv, but Viv says they cannot get back together. She also tries to make amends to Lois, but she is uninterested in talking to Jean. At a children's birthday party, Jean comes out to her brother-in-law and a friend, before bursting out in laughter as she leaves.
She convinces Lois to come with her to a house party, where Jean's friends share in the "bog fund", a co-operative fund for lesbians in the city. A friend of Jean's tells Lois that the lesbians with "real jobs" like Jean contribute to the fund. Later that night, Viv and Jean talk in friendly terms, but don't reconcile.
The next day, Jean arrives at school with a smile on her face.
Cast
- Rosy McEwen as Jean
- Kerrie Hayes as Viv
- Lucy Halliday as Lois
- Lydia Page as Siobhan
- Stacy Abalogun as Ace
- Amy Booth-Steele as Debbie
- Aoife Kennan as Sasha
- Scott Turnbull as Tim
- Farrah Cave as Michelle
- Lainey Shaw as Paula
- Izzy Neish as Abi
- Becky Lindsay as Jill
Release
Blue Jean premiered on 3 September 2022 in the Venice Days section of the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival.[4] It was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 10 February 2023 by Altitude Films.[5]
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 92% of 70 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bridging times past with issues that are still current, Blue Jean resonates intellectually and emotionally thanks to thoughtful direction and authentic performances".[6] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average rating of 89 out of 100, based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venice Film Festival | 11 September 2022 | People Choice's Award | Blue Jean | Won | [4] |
| British Academy Film Awards | 19 February 2023 | Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer | Georgia Oakley | Nominated | [8] |
| British Independent Film Awards | 4 December 2022 | Best British Independent Film | Blue Jean | Nominated | [9][10] |
| Best Director | Georgia Oakley | Nominated | |||
| Best Lead Performance | Rosy McEwen | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Performance | Kerrie Hayes | Won | |||
| Lucy Halliday | Nominated | ||||
| Breakthrough Performance | Rosy McEwen | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Georgia Oakley | Nominated | |||
| Best Casting | Shaheen Baig | Won | |||
| Best Editing | Izabella Curry | Nominated | |||
| Best Debut Director | Georgia Oakley | Nominated | |||
| Best Debut Screenwriter | Georgia Oakley | Won | |||
| Breakthrough Producer | Hélène Sifre | Nominated | |||
| Best Ensemble Performance | Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun, Farrah Cave, Amy Booth-Steel | Nominated | |||
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | 27 November 2023 | Breakthrough Director | Georgia Oakley | Pending | [11] |
References
- "Blue Jean". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- "Blue Jean". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- "Blue Jean". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- Vlessing, Etan (11 September 2022). "Magnolia Pictures Nabs Rosy McEwen's 'Blue Jean' Out of Venice". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- "'Blue Jean' Trailer: Georgie Oakley's Astonishing Queer Drama To Hit UK Theaters In February". The Playlist. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- "Blue Jean". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- "Blue Jean Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- Ntim, Zac (8 February 2023). "'Blue Jean': Read The Screenplay For Georgia Oakley's BAFTA Nominated Debut". Deadline. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- Youngs, Ian (10 February 2023). "Blue Jean: The lesbian teachers who inspired film about Section 28". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- Szalai, Georg (4 November 2022). "British Independent Film Awards: Debut Movies 'Aftersun,' 'Blue Jean' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- Lewis, Hilary (24 October 2023). "'Past Lives,' 'A Thousand and One' and 'All of Us Strangers' Top Gotham Awards Film Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 October 2023.