Review of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) by Jennifer S — 04 Nov 2009

Interesting film that fits nicely into the "inspiring teacher" genre. Maggie Smith plays Jean Brodie--a teacher at a conservative girl's school in 1932 Scotland who loves art and believes that "Goodness, truth, and beauty" come first in life. Her unconventional teaching methods, of course, are her downfall.

This film is commendable in that it doesn't force the audience to buy into Miss Brodie's worldview so completely as other "inspiring teacher" films tend to (*coughdeadpoetssocietycough*). In fact, Miss Brodie comes off as a bit of a flighty crackpot in addition to a glamorous, independent woman. On the one hand, she admirably exposes her students to art and treats them as if they will go on to be remarkable, cultured women rather than obedient conformists. On the other hand...Miss Brodie admires, of all people, Mussolini, making us question how much she actually knows about politics. In addition, she describes one of her prettier students--the aptly named Jenny-- as similar to "a heroine in a novel by Mr. D.H. Lawrence" and tells the lecherous art teacher that Jenny will one day be a great lover in an outright attempt to get Mr. Art Teacher to seduce the (not yet 16 year old) Jenny. Miss Brodie's misplaced romanticism makes her well-placed romanticism seem all the more genuine rather than generic, squeaky clean, Hollywood-style eccentricity and lust for life. Miss Brodie is an amazing--and deeply flawed--woman.

So when a jealous, yet fiercely intelligent student betrays Miss Brodie in the end, it is all the more tragic since it is an inevitable (and preventable) outcome. If Miss Brodie had toned down her more controversial beliefs; if she had been more discreet in her personal life, she could have remained as an inspiring influence at her school. However, the point of the film is that Jean Brodie is a woman who doesn't tone down for anyone or anything--even if leads to her "assassination" in the end.