Rating: 
Summary: Maggie Smith is perfect in this.
Review: "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" is one of the great films ever for this reason: it takes what might be considered to be a bland subject, and, through one of the great performances in film history by Dame Maggie Smith, turns this film into one of the more spellbinding psychodramas of all time. The reason for every action in this film by any character is because that character has been so greatly influenced by Jean Brodie, for better, and, in many instances, for worse. I look forward to when this title is released on DVD, for it is as mentally fascinating a movie as there is.
Rating:
Summary: "Give me a girl at an impressionable age...
Review: ...and she is mine for life!" So declares the extraordinary, unorthodox & 'dangerous' Miss Brodie. Maggie Smith gives a riveting performance as the 1930s Scottish schoolteacher whose charisma captures the hearts & minds of her students...to say nothing of the art master. At 14, I, too, was 'captured' by Miss Brodie's charm; the callowness of youth having departed, I can now recognize the master manipulator in her, too. An influential teacher can shape the life of a student, for good or ill...& Miss Brodie does both. Sharp, witty lines--hilariously funny at times, deadly serious in the end. One way or another, you will remember Miss Brodie & her girls...for, as she is fond of saying: "I am in my Prime...[with the result that]...all of my girls are the Creme de la Creme!"
Rating:
Summary: Pupil Trumps Teacher
Review: As others have noted, "Miss Brodie" is a complex character. To say she's sexually repressed is just the start. In addition, her political idealism is snarled up with her sexual frustrations, so that, on one hand, she appears "liberal" in encouraging her girl pupils to explore the "possibilities" life offers (even if she herself continually retreats from them), but on the other harbors an admiration for arch-conservative (read "fascist") leaders like Mussolini. In reality, of course, her idealism leads her to identify with "Kaiserian" autocrats in her role as educator ---one of the funniest moments in the film, in fact, occurs when she's leading some of her understudies on a school outing, and "Sandy" (played by the beautiful Pamela Franklin) starts swinging her arms in a marching rhythm, deliberately emulating one of Brodie's "fascisti." Yet despite the identification, Miss Brodie is ultimately too timid to play the role of autocrat in any direct way, and so couches her "fascist" tendencies in rhetorical paeans to art and beauty. Meanwhile, the only real artist in Brodie's school also happens to be her disdained paramour (played by Robert Stephens) - another amusing moment occurs when he says to her: "You went to bed with an artist, but were horrified when you woke up with a man." Maggie Smith may have won the Oscar as the title character, but Pamela Franklin happens to be one of my favorite actresses, so I'm biased in my admiration for her in this film. Incredibly cute as "Sandy," she also pulls off a convincing transformation from a rather uncultivated little girl in the first half of the film to a sexually liberated young woman toward the end. Her nude scene in the artist's studio, in fact, is startling considering the film was made in 1968 (see closing credits), and nudity in American commercial films at that time was rare. In fact, she looks so child-like that one can only suppose the studio setting was the only thing that precluded outright censorship. In any case, Ms. Franklin displays a capacity for complexity that rivals Maggie Smith herself, and it seems almost fitting that her character ends up with most of the "freedom" that Brodie can realize only vicariously. The pitched battle she wages with her teacher to attain independence of thought and selfhood is just one of the things that makes this a superior and rewarding film.
Rating:
Summary: Oscar-winning performance
Review: Before she was the Harry Potter Lady, Maggie Smith was Miss Jean Brodie, a school teacher in 1930s Scotland who has dedicated her prime to the school, particularly 4 girls whom she has adopted as her special girls, the Brodie set, whom she takes on trips to the theater, etc. She also involves them in her own pursual of a married art teacher --s ending them to his house to pose as models since she can't very well herself. There is no true villain or hero in this film --- Bodie has her selfish purposes but she believes she is helping the girls, one of the girls decides Brodie must be stopped. Particularly heartbreaking is Mary MacGregor, who speaks with a stutter and admires Miss Brodie, and reaches an unfortunate end as a result. The story could ring just as true on any era and any country. Maggie Smith is fully deserving of the Oscar she got for this role.
Rating: 
Summary: Primed for a Movie that Ultimately Disappointed Me
Review: Being that I was going off to Scotland last summer, I rented any movie that had a connection however vague to that country, and so "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", set in Edinburgh, was a prime candidate. I knew that Maggie Smith had gotten herself an Oscar with the title role, I'd heard the opening credits song for ages on WPAT old standards station, and I'd seen it lampooned briefly in MAD magazine as The Prime of Miss Jean's Body. In short, I was looking forward quite keenly to seeing this film. I dinna' like it atall! No, I found Miss Jean herself tiresome, and I don't know, 1960s juvenile sexpots like her impressionable young student always depress me. They just make life seem both dreary and lurid at the same time--yucky! Frankly, it was easier for me to tolerate seeing her naked in the art teacher's flat than to see her putting on her drab school uniform and big bloomer underpants. Take a stab at it if you wish, but I was very disappointed with this much-talked-about film.
Rating:
Summary: The Bottomline, Lines!
Review: Bottomline? Watch this movie because you can really listen to it. Without doubt this film is watchable, in multiples. I agree with all of the above reviews. It is complex in character, atmosphere, implications, etc. You think about it long after you rewind it. Why? It's well written. More importantly, it's well spoken -- that simple. I laugh heartily, cringe in anticipation, bridle in anger every time I watch/listen to it. If you think about it afterwards, you can't without quoting the scene aloud. Anyone around you will give you a puzzled look, to which you will cite the reference. Believe me, they will have rented or bought it in short measure. Release it in DVD please.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Haunting
Review: First you must understand that I am not an easy critic, I notice all the little things in a movie that others might overlook or just choose to ignore.
That said, this is a brilliant (but not perfect)movie.
The acting of Maggie Smith is superb beyond words. She starts out as a heroine, just the type of teacher we would all like to have. As the movie progresses, the character of Miss Brodie moves closer and closer to a breakdown. What's brilliant is that this peril is obvious to the viewer, but not to Miss Brodie herself, a most difficult task for a screen-writer, a director, and an actress to accomplish.
The depiction of Edinburgh in the 30's is so realistic that you really feel as though you've been put into some sort of time machine- this is one of my favorite aspects of the film, and also the beautifully haunting soundtrack. I truly admire when a film is able to transport you to another place and time and make you truly feel it.
The movie is quite different from the book to be sure (aren't they all?) but the location filming, and the truly brilliant acting overcome any drawbacks.
The film is also notable for the performance of Pamela Franklin.
If you've only seen her in Disney movies, be prepared for a very different Pamela Franklin this time around.
I have watched this film over 10 times now and still do not fully understand it. Is Miss Brodie the Miss-understood heroine? Or is she truly a dangerous person intent on using others so that she can live vicariously through them? Is the film a warning to all of us that evil lurks where least expected? Or is it a trip inside our souls, in those deep somber moments where we have all been betrayed by our dearest and most trusted friends?
Watch the film and decide for yourself. Either way, you will have a beautiful journey thru the very mind and soul of a most complex character, in a nostalgic era, brilliantly portrayed by Maggie Smith.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FILM !
Rating:
Summary: Miss Jean Brodie - a True Original
Review: From the time I first saw this movie at a theatre to the many times I've seen it on TV, I marvel at the performances by all the actors in this incredible movie. I guarantee you've never been introduced to a more original, off-beat thinker than Miss Brodie - she and her set, the Brodie girls, are beyond mere explanation. This is a rare movie that catches the viewer from the opening bike ride to the final shouts of "assassin." Top Notch - First Rate!
Rating: 
Summary: And What A Prime It Is!
Review: Here's a film whose reputation seems to have declined over the years. Highly regarded and hugely successful when it first came out, it now seems a bit static with a plot that is a tad too predictable. The main attraction of the film was always the mesmerising and award-winning performance of Maggie Smith. But today some people might find her acting overly mannered or too theatrical. However, I am not one of them. I have always thought that Maggie Smith was one of the finest actresses ever. And a genuine eccentric.
The film consists of lots and lots of dialogue delivered in quaint Scottish accents. (The accents are not as much a problem for American audiences as they are in other films such as Gregory's Girl.) There is an occasional glimpse of old Edinburgh but, for the most part, the settings are confined to interiors. The film is directed and photographed professionally and unobtrusively. The 1930's period is nicely byt subtly evoked. The one discordant element is the rather twee musical score by Rod McKuen. The emphasis, as in a play, is on the characters.
The supporting cast are just that but most of them manage to have their moments. Robert Stephens (married to Maggie Smith at the time) is quite good as a slightly bohemian art teacher. Gordon Jackson steps somewhat out of his usual typecasting to portray a wimp of a music teacher. Celia Johnson is positively evil as the jealous and strait-laced headmistress. Best of all is Pamela Franklin as Miss Brodie's pet pupil - a nicely shaded and slightly underplayed performance that both contrasts and complements Maggie Smith's flamboyant turn.
And it is Maggie Smith that you will be mostly watching. Demonstrating all the emotions from dreamy idealist to dedicated teacher to fliratious lover to frustrated spinster to defiant victim. Every line of dialogue is delivered perfectly - every move of her body is exactly appropriate to her character. She dominates the film without overpowering it. In many ways, it is basically a stage performance but she manages to make it work in the context of a film. In the end, you may not entirely love her character, but you will certainly understand her. And that is what great acting is all about.
I have seen The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie many times and have often found myself wishing that Maggie Smith's brilliant performance had been in a better film. But it's hardly a bad one. Old-fashioned and somewhat stagebound perhaps. But you forget all that whenever Maggie Smith is on the screen.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Maggie Smith Jewel
Review: How this absolutely compulsory title is not yet available on DVD when movies [...] like 'American Pie' and those reprobates from the cast of 'Buffy' are already doing the rounds of the DVD bargain bins is still quite a mystery to me. Maggie Smith as the titular Miss Jean Brodie gives an unequalled, inspirational performance as a woman who has sacrificed everything - love, wealth, mental wellbeing - to her job as a teacher, and in particular, to her 'Brodie Set' - a group of girls who, for her, are girls that can be molded in her own image. Enter Sandy, a member of the Brody set, who, unhappy with her lot as 'Dependable', decides that Miss Brodie is a force who must be removed. Usurping Jean's lover and betraying her trust, Sandy eventually brings about the personal and professional decline of Miss Brodie. Shot beautifully on-location in Edinburgh, the first thing one feels during the film is an unreasonable attachment to the bohemian, forthright Jean Brodie. We see her flaws, her mental imperfections and almost overpowering ego, but we also see her deep and abiding love of her profession, her girls, and, most of all, her freedom to think creatively. We love her because she tries, and her human idiosyncrasies make her all the more believable. This is thanks solely to the genius talent of the titanic Dame Maggie Smith, in the greatest performance of her spellbinding career. She imbues Jean Brodie with such life and vigour, such paradoxical steeliness and frailty, that we are drawn in and willingly, happily mesmerised by the power of a supremely talented actress at work. Second only to Ms. Smith in terms of emotional power and character creation is Pamela Franklin as the duplicitous and self-righteous Sandy. In what is surely the defining moment of an oddly lacklustre movie career (a fine actress, Ms. Franklin never seems to have quite made 'it' as far as Hollywood is concerned) she creates in Sandy the innocence and maliciousness needed to convincingly create a portrait of a girl who is more like her Mentor than she would care to admit. Supporting cast is way above average, and nods must go to Celia Johnson as the frustrated and matriarchal Miss Mackay, and Jane Carr as the dimwitted, ill-fated Mary MacGregor. The direction is beautifully reserved, with sparse, almost-enigmatic interior settings and lush outdoor scenes complimenting the mood of the script beautifully. Jean herself shines like the colourful, unconventional bauble she is, and the visual impression made by director Ronald Neame is one of stark, harsh beauty and emotional detatchment. A triumph of characterisation and an emotionally draining experience, do not bother to wait for the DVD version. On VHS, on BetaMax, hell, if you have to steal the old theatrical reel and build your own movi theatre, I urge you to see this commanding, exceptional piece of film-making. IIt is simply that good.
|
