Maggie Smith revels being in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," a 1969 film based on the play by Ronald Neame. Smith, in her great film role, plays the narcissistic, romantic, unconventional Jean Brodie, a teacher in a conservative school in 1932.
Brodie refers to her 12-year-old students as "her girls," rhapsodizes about her lover who fell in World War I, shows slides of her trip to Italy, extols the virtues of "Il Duce" (Mussolini) and Fascism, and has picnics with the students, serving food such as pate de foie gras. The headmistress (Celia Johnson) may not like her, but two male teachers (Robert Stephens and Gordon Jackson) are crazy about her: one the handsome, married art teacher, whom she won't let herself love, and the other, a weak, traditional man who wants marriage but gets the free-wheeling Ms. Brodie instead.
One can't help liking or even loving Jean Brodie, mostly because of the vivid characterization of Maggie Smith - her Brodie is funny, fun, eccentric, devoted, and loves bucking the system. Underneath all that "truth" and "romance," however, is a woman with a very over-idealized view of the world, a woman who doesn't really see "her girls" as anything but tools in her own game and to satisfy her own needs. One student (Pamela Franklin), the strongest of the lot, ultimately sees through her.
Franklin is marvelous, and holds her own against Smith's brilliant, biting, flamboyant performance. Smith's husband, Robert Stephens, is very good as the art teacher who loves her in spite of himself; Celia Johnson is formidable as the headmistress; and Gordon Jackson, as the overwhelmed, good Mr. Lowther, is wonderful. Each makes a strong impression.
Ultimately, though, the role of Jean Brodie is a beautifully constructed one, and as played by Maggie Smith, is the center of the film. I saw Smith in person in "Lettice and Lovage," and it remains one of my all-time great nights of theater. I laughed until my face hurt, and then at the end, the character has a serious monologue - and you could hear a pin drop. What a privilege to see this actress anywhere and any time, in any medium.
