Queerguru’s Ris Fatah reviews BLUE JEAN a brilliant new lesbian drama set in Thatcher’s Britain

“Do you know what the phrase ‘Fight or Flight’ means?” asks gay Geordie PE teacher Jean (Rosy McEwen) of her teenage students at the beginning of the brilliant new drama Blue Jean. It is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. It’s obviously on Jean’s mind as she navigates life as a queer teacher in a northeastern secondary school during bleak late 1980s Thatcher-era England in the shadow of controversial new anti-gay legislation, clause 28 of the Local Authorities Act.

Young, good-looking Jean loves her teaching work and is good at it. She has a steady girlfriend and a fun social life, chain-smoking, drinking, and playing pool at the local lesbian bar in town. She is not, however, out to her family, co-workers or pupils, and lives in constant fear of her sexuality being found out. She muddles along, dodging awkward questions from family and co-workers. She’s fearful of losing her job due to the increasing public awareness of clause 28’s rules about the ‘prohibition of homosexuality’ by local authorities, ie: her employer. The fear eats up at her inside, much to the frustration of her girlfriend Viv (an excellent Kerrie Hayes) who is a full-on raving lezza. 

Life takes an unexpected twist one night when she and one of her pupils, 15-year-old Lois (Lucy Halliday), catch sight of each other at the lesbian bar. Worse still, Lois is invited by Jean’s friends to join their pool game and soon becomes part of the group of friends. Jean is very uncomfortable about this. Lois, however, is assertive and out-and-proud and sticks up for herself, including against school bullies. This leads to compromising situations for Jean when matters eventually get out of hand at school.

Writer and Director Georgina Oakley has created a future British classic with her thought-provoking debut Blue Jean. It’s very hard to authentically recreate the 1980s in film but the attention to detail in the production, set design, costumes, and script here is flawless. She also manages to combine humour and poignancy in equal measure. The casting is impeccable, especially that of Rosy McEwan and Lucy Halliday, both of whom deliver amazing performances. Victor Seguin’s gritty cinematography takes us straight back to that rather bleak decade and the whole story is complemented by an excellent soundtrack by Chris Roe which combines original music with classics, including those by New Order, Imagination, Frankie Knuckles’ mix of Let the Music Use You and The Larks’ classic ‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, Out! Out! Out!’ The use of archive BBC news reports about the introduction and debate around clause 28 also enhances the authenticity of the production. If you like Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin, or Bill Forsyth’s classic, Gregory’s Girl, then you’ll love this.

PS Blue Jean is already playing in UK Cinemas and is also about to be screened at Miami Film Festival