The film is set in a conservative private girls school, in 1930s Edinburgh, in which the headstrong and progressive Miss Brodie is on a collision course with the more old-fashioned headmistress, Miss Mackay. Jean Brodie is a woman 'in her prime', as she is apt to remind her students, a lover of art and music (and fascism, which I'll get to!), 'truth and beauty', who neglects the school syllabus to share with her girls ('the Brodie Girls') her romanticised worldview. Mackay, meanwhile, is of the mindset that women are molded on the hockey field, too out-of-breath to concern themselves with high culture.Brodie has a big influence on her girls, particularly her four favourites, Sandy, Jenny, Monica, and the stuttering new-girl, Mary, who is particularly besotted. So, too, are the art teacher, Teddy Lloyd, and music teacher, Gordon Lowther. The former, a married father of six, shared a brief fling with Jean, and is intent on winning her back. His impetuous artistic spirit is in contrast to the more grounded, somewhat dull, Lowther, who courts Brodie, but is dismayed by the rumours that pass through the school about their relationship. Through all of this, Brodie maintains that she is devoted to her girls, and that teaching is the only thing she needs.
The film is based on a play by Jay Presson Allen (which was, in turn, based on a novel), and you can tell. A lot of the time, describing a film as 'play-like' would be a criticism, suggesting that the film feels static, is maybe too verbose, and lacks a sense of the cinematic. When I use the phrase here, I'm talking about a richness of dialogue, characters that feel real, and are really given time to breathe, and a very particular way of developing the story, introducing conflicts that you don't initially see coming, but feel completely natural and organic. The script is tremendous, and the whole thing rests on the nature of Brodie's character.
Jean Brodie has all the attributes which one might find admirable in a character of this sort. She is an individual, who won't be beaten down by the archaic way of thinking prevalent in the system of which she is a part. She has a genuine love for her students. She wants them to blossom into ladies that can live a full life, enriched with romance and adventure, and is dedicated to making that happen. But, she has a fatal flaw, in that, while trying to impress upon her students the importance of individuality, she has become just as big a dictator as the conservative world she rails against. She has a narrow vision of what the world should be like, and wants the girls to fit into that. That is where her admiration for fascism comes into play, which seemed a strange plot-point, but came to make more sense the more the film developed. Brodie romanticises strong leaders, as she sees herself as one. She particularly admires Benito Mussolini. It is important to remember that the film is set prior to World War 2, and Mussolini's (and Fascist Italy's) relationship with the Nazis, and it is easy to see why Brodie might have taken to the ideals, as it stood opposed to socialism, and the downplaying of the individual. More to the point, Brodie is portrayed as a woman wise in cultural matters, but lack in real world understanding (when Teddy finds out that Brodie has started a campaign to raise money for Franco's efforts in the Spanish civil war, he declares that she never knew anything about politics).
And, yet, Brodie remains a truly sympathetic character. The writing plays a part, as does Smith's exceptional performance. Of the performances she was nominated alongside at the 1970 awards, I've only seen one, Jane Fonda's turn in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, a fine performance in its own right, but not at the level of Smith's. She captures everything about Jean perfectly; her pride, her artfulness (reciting poetry, speaking Italian), the fierceness with which she defends her teaching style. One excellent scene sees Brodie finally let rip at Mackay, after the latter asks for her resignation upon finding out about the relationship between her and Gordon. Smith, with tears of anger forming in her eyes (but never escaping), exclaims that she will never be forced out, that she will fight to her last breath to remain in her position. That she is a teacher, first, last, always. It is a powerful display, typical of a performance which always strikes the right note, and really carries the viewer along with it, making us root for Jean, even as we question her methods.
The performances are actually strong throughout. Macay is excellent, as are Robert Stephens (who was married to Smith in real life) as Teddy, and Pamela Franklin as Sandy. Sandy becomes one of the film's key characters, as she is the one amongst Brodie's Girls who begins to see the damage the teacher is doing. In actuality, Sandy is taking Brodie's lesson a little too much to heart, as she develops the desire to break away from the uniformity of the other girls, staunch in their admiration for Brodie, and become the kind of woman, strong and independent, that Brodie should admire. However, to do this, she feels that she must take Brodie down, to 'stop her', as she says.
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| Smith and Franklin: the teacher and the pupil. |
In some respects, it's hard to blame her. Brodie has her own ideas of what her girls will become, where their lives will lead them, and, while she declares Monica a future-great artist, and Jenny a future-great lover, the best she can muster for Sandy is that she is dependable. In fact, when Sandy tells Jean that she is to be painted by Teddy, Jean off-handedly tells her that she doesn't see her future in being painted. Sandy sees that as a rejection, and aims to get back at Brodie in the most hurtful way she can; first, by becoming Teddy's lover, and secondly, by taking away from Brodie the one thing that defines her above all else- her job.
This leads to a superb closing face-off between the two, again brilliantly written and performed. Smith first captures Brodie's resolve as she vows to fight the dismissal just handed down to her by Mackay, her fascist allegiances finally catching up with her. Then, the change comes, with the realisation that it was her dependable Sandy that had betrayed her, and the shift in Smith's countenance and tone is remarkable. Franklin, meanwhile, is positively scathing as the child betrayer ("you are no longer in your prime!"), who suddenly realises what she has done, and, more to the point, what she has become.
The scene is a fitting climax to a film which is full of these kinds of character complexities and parallels. It should also be mentioned that, as well as these great dramatic conflicts, this is a film full of humour, usually coming in the form of a Brodie witticism (upon finding out that Mackay wants to meet with her at 4.15 that day, Brodie quips "not 4, not 4.30, but 4.15. She thinks to intimidate me by the use of quarter hours"). This actually makes the drama more impactful, and adds resonance to the final stages.
The sets are great, as are the locations, and Neame directs with a sure touch, zooming in to capture the nuances of Smith's extraordinary performance. And, above all, it is that performance for which the film should be best remembered. Brodie is a deeply flawed character brouht to life by an actress who I'm beginning to think is completely flawless. 5 stars.
I should have another new review next time, but until then, here's looking at you!
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