The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, based on Muriel Sparks’ 1961 novel, starred the late and great Maggie Smith as the central powerful character.  Teacher Miss Jean Brodie, in the opinion of our discussion group, was like a cult leader to her ‘Set’.  She was charismatic, charming, but “a total psychopath” in the way she tried to mould them.

Our thoughts naturally led to the way sexuality was depicted in the film. The scenes of a young pupil in a sexual relationship with a teacher would now be seen as risqué, shocking and inappropriate. The film was set in the 1930s but it was made in 1969. The liberal social attitudes at this time made a difference.

We shared our feelings about the pupil Sandy (played by Pamela Franklin), who speaks out about Miss Jean Brodie. She was “the pivot of the film,” we thought. Some of us felt she wasn’t such a victim in her relationship with the predatory art teacher (Robert Stephens) who had “the liberty and license to abuse.”  She was brave enough to speak out and walk away. Others felt she didn’t have a lot of power at all and had been used.

One member of the group thought it was implied that Jean Brodie had been abused in the past. When she gave her girls a slideshow of Italy, she mentioned being with an older man when she was 14.  It was wondered if a way of dealing with this could have been letting her girls relive her damaged life. 

 Others thought she was all about control. Although she talked about education being about ‘drawing out’, she was all about imposing her own ideas, particularly about fascism, on the Brodie Set. These pupils were supposedly “the crème de la crème” but just a vessel for her own obsessions.

Although Miss Jean Brodie appeared dominating, one member felt she was sad and pathetic, reflecting the harsh reality of so many women left without their loved ones after the First World War. Another member of the group found her “over the top and histrionic”.

The dour grey set design meant that Miss Jean Brodie’s colourful costumes, particularly the vivid scarlet dresses, stood out. However, Maggie Smith hardly needed this technique to make an impression. This was a powerful Oscar winning performance. Something we all agreed on - she was “splendid, brilliant and magnificent.”  And much missed, of course.

Anne.