Blue Jean (film)

Last updated

Blue Jean
Blue Jean (film) resize.png
Release poster
Directed byGeorgia Oakley
Written byGeorgia Oakley
Produced byHélène Sifre
Starring
CinematographyVictor Seguin
Edited byIzabella Curry
Music byChris Roe, Stavros Papanikolaou
Production
companies
Distributed by Altitude Films
Release dates
  • 3 September 2022 (2022-09-03)(Venice)
  • 10 February 2023 (2023-02-10)
Running time
97 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$693,331 [2] [3]

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.

Contents

The film premiered on 3 September 2022 at the 79th 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

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 96% of 113 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.9/10. 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 87 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [7]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Venice Film Festival 11 September 2022 People Choice's AwardBlue JeanWon [4]
British Academy Film Awards 19 February 2023 Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Georgia Oakley (director), Helene Sifre (producer)Nominated [8]
British Independent Film Awards 4 December 2022 Best British Independent Film Blue JeanNominated [9] [10]
Best Director Georgia OakleyNominated
Best Lead Performance Rosy McEwen Won
Best Supporting Performance Kerrie Hayes Won
Lucy HallidayNominated
Breakthrough Performance Rosy McEwenNominated
Best Screenplay Georgia OakleyNominated
Best Casting Shaheen BaigWon
Best Editing Izabella CurryNominated
Best Debut Director Georgia OakleyNominated
Best Debut Screenwriter Georgia OakleyWon
Breakthrough Producer Hélène SifreNominated
Best Ensemble PerformanceRosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun, Farrah Cave, Amy Booth-SteelNominated
Gotham Independent Film Awards 27 November 2023 Breakthrough Director Georgia OakleyNominated [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Martin</span> American singer and actress (1913–1990)

Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949), the title character in Peter Pan (1954), and Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1959). She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Beals</span> American actress (born 1963)

Jennifer Beals is an American actress. She made her film debut in My Bodyguard (1980), before receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Alexandra Owens in Flashdance (1983), for which she won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radha Mitchell</span> Australian actress

Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She began her career on television, playing Catherine O'Brien on the Australian soap opera Neighbours (1996–1997), before transitioning to working in Hollywood. Known for her work in the action and thriller genres, she is the recipient of an FCCA Award, as well as nominations for Fangoria Chainsaw, AFI, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<i>But Im a Cheerleader</i> 1999 film by Jamie Babbit

But I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 American satirical teen romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit in her feature directorial debut and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a residential in-patient conversion therapy camp to "cure" her lesbianism. At camp, Megan realizes that she is indeed a lesbian and, despite the "therapy", comes to embrace her sexuality. The supporting cast includes Clea DuVall, RuPaul, and Cathy Moriarty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Davis</span> American actress and horseback rider

Gail Davis was an American actress and singer, best known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television series Annie Oakley.

Lois Bromfield is a Canadian-American comedic actor, writer, and television producer originally from Toronto, Ontario. Her credits include Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, The Jackie Thomas Show and The New Hollywood Squares. In 1990, Bromfield appeared with Chris Aable in her first television interview, along with her HBO comedy video on Aable's show, Hollywood Today where she was interviewed along with her then-husband Steve Moore.

Kerrie Hayes is an English actress.

<i>Blue Is the Warmest Colour</i> 2013 film by Abdellatif Kechiche

Blue Is the Warmest Colour is a 2013 romantic drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and starring Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. The film follows Adèle (Exarchopoulos), a French teenager, who discovers desire and freedom when Emma (Seydoux), an aspiring painter, enters her life. It depicts their lesbian sexual relationship from Adèle's high school years to her early adult life and career as a schoolteacher. The film's premise is based on the 2010 graphic novel of the same name by Jul Maroh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angourie Rice</span> Australian actress (born 2001)

Angourie Isabel Teresa Rice is an Australian actress. She began her career as a child actress, coming to attention for her roles in These Final Hours (2013) and The Nice Guys (2016). She played Betty Brant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). For her starring role in Ladies in Black (2018), she won the AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 2024, she starred as Cady Heron in the musical film Mean Girls.

Sex Education is a British teen sex comedy drama television series created by Laurie Nunn for Netflix. It follows the lives of the teenagers and adults in the fictional town of Moordale as they contend with various personal dilemmas, often related to sexual intimacy. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, and Aimee Lou Wood.

<i>Seance</i> (2021 film) 2021 film

Seance is a 2021 supernatural horror film written and directed by Simon Barrett. It was released on May 21, 2021, by RLJE Films.

<i>The Banshees of Inisherin</i> 2022 film by Martin McDonagh

The Banshees of Inisherin is a 2022 black tragicomedy film directed, written, and co-produced by Martin McDonagh. Set on a remote, fictional island off the west coast of Ireland in the 1920s, the film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with severe consequences for both of them; Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan co-star. It reunites Farrell and Gleeson after McDonagh's directorial debut In Bruges (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golda Rosheuvel</span> British actress

Golda Rosheuvel is a British actress and singer. She is known for her theatre work and a number of on-screen roles, most prominently for her portrayal of Queen Charlotte in the Netflix period drama series Bridgerton (2020–) and its prequel Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023).

<i>The Whale</i> (2022 film) 2022 American psychological drama film by Darren Aronofsky

The Whale is a 2022 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Samuel D. Hunter, based on his 2012 play of the same name. The film stars Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton. The plot follows a reclusive, morbidly obese instructor of the English language who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter, whom he had abandoned eight years earlier. The film was shot from March 8 to April 7, 2021, in Newburgh, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">79th Venice International Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 79th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2022. Noah Baumbach's White Noise was the festival's opening film, and Francesco Carrozzini's The Hanging Sun was the closing film.

<i>All the Beauty and the Bloodshed</i> 2022 American film

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a 2022 American biographical documentary film about photographer, artist, and activist Nan Goldin. The film is produced, co-edited and directed by Laura Poitras, and tackles Goldin's life thought her advocacy during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 80's, and her fight against the Sackler family for their role in the current opioid epidemic in the United States. Poitras, a long-time friend and fan, stated that "Nan's art and vision has inspired my work for years, and has influenced generations of filmmakers."

<i>Saint Omer</i> (film) 2022 film by Alice Diop

Saint Omer is a 2022 French legal drama film written and directed by Alice Diop, and starring Kayije Kagame and Guslagie Malanda. It is Diop's first narrative feature. Her other films have been documentaries.

Rosy McEwen is a British actress. She won a British Independent Film Award for her performance in Blue Jean (2022). On television, she is known for her roles in the TNT series The Alienist (2020) and the Channel 4 drama Close to Me (2021). Her other films include Vesper (2022).

References

  1. ↑ "Blue Jean". British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Blue Jean". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Blue Jean". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 Vlessing, Etan (11 September 2022). "Magnolia Pictures Nabs Rosy McEwen's 'Blue Jean' Out of Venice". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "'Blue Jean' Trailer: Georgie Oakley's Astonishing Queer Drama To Hit UK Theaters In February". The Playlist. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Blue Jean". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  7. ↑ "Blue Jean Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Ntim, Zac (8 February 2023). "'Blue Jean': Read The Screenplay For Georgia Oakley's BAFTA Nominated Debut". Deadline . Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Youngs, Ian (10 February 2023). "Blue Jean: The lesbian teachers who inspired film about Section 28". BBC News . Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  10. ↑ Szalai, Georg (4 November 2022). "British Independent Film Awards: Debut Movies 'Aftersun,' 'Blue Jean' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  11. ↑ 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.