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Recent releases:
- Pearl
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods (IMAX in some cinemas)
- Scream VI
- Creed III (IMAX in some cinemas)
- What's Love Got to Do With It?
- Son, The
- Magic Mike's Last Dance
- Eo
- Roman Holiday (Reissue)
- Whale, The
- Fabelmans, The
- Babylon
- Tar
- Empire of Light
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Wonder, The
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
- Muppet Christmas Carol, The (30th anniversary reissue)
- Casablanca (70th anniversary reissue)
- Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
Blue Jean
Stars: Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page
Director: Georgia Oakley
Lesbians rule OK! I've certainly seen more lesbian stories in the past few months than those about gay men, and here's another, set in Thatcher's Britain, and containing a few distant similarities to the recently-seen Tar.
Jean (McEwen) is a chain-smoking PE teacher (OK, we'll let that one pass) at a Tyneside secondary school. Seemingly in a secure relationship with heavily-tattooed Viv (Hayes) - though the two seem as ill-matched as chalk and cheese - Jean's rather precarious existence (all day in school, evenings in the local gay bar) is threatened by the arrival in school of rebellious new girl Lois (Halliday), a 15-year-old who is soon popping up at Jean and Viv's bar.
When Lucy's worst enemy at school (skilfully drawn by Page) forces herself on Lois and then cries that she has been attacked, Jean, who watched events unfold, is faced with a dilemma - should she support Lois and risk her own position, or say nothing and see the girl suspended?
I'm not sure I could see what Jean really had to lose here; nonetheless, McEwen is sympathetic as the games mistress, and almost convinces us that her career actually could be on the line. The film doesn't cut very deep, however, nor does it really get anywhere.
David Quinlan
UK 2021. UK Distributor: Altitude. Colour by Kodak.
93 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 2, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.
Review date: 06 Feb 2023