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The Education of Jane Cumming

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Edinburgh, 1810. Teachers Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods embark on their dream of an independent life together and open a boarding school. Their lives are changed forever when a wealthy aristocrat enrols her "illegitimate" 15-year-old grandchild from India. The teachers struggle to integrate the girl who remains an outsider among her classmates. Miss Pirie and Miss Woods are brought closer to Jane Cumming when her grandmother insists they look after her over the summer. Private and professional lines blur, affection between them grows and they start to form an unlikely family. Tensions rise as the new term begins. The teachers are overwhelmed with the girl's increasing desire for closeness and their own changing relationship. As Jane Cumming begins to feel excluded from her new family, she demands to be taken home to her grandmother. An accusation follows which leaves the teacher's fighting for their lives, resulting in a legal battle that would last a decade and scandalize the Scottish establishment. Based on true events.

Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Mar 10
4/5
This very well acted film is an astringent and commonsensical account of what in all probability happened in private as well as in public: a story of race, class, sexuality and empire. Go to Full Review Guy Lodge Variety Mar 10
The result is easily the most satisfying screen outing yet for this story material: a classically well-made and affectingly performed period drama. Go to Full Review Amber Wilkinson Screen International Mar 10
Largely playing out as a chamber piece, it is bolstered by a strong ensemble cast but remains structurally uneven and risks being too overly buttoned-up for its own good. Go to Full Review Stephen A. Russell ScreenHub Feb 26
German filmmaker Sophie Heldman was fascinated by the true story of the 19th-century teachers Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie ... when Mia Tharia’s titular character ... complains about their closeness, scandal ensues. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Sophie Heldman

Director

Flora Nicholson

Jane Pirie

Clare Dunne

Marianne Woods

Mia Tharia

Jane Cumming

Fiona Shaw

Lady Cumming Gordon

Sadie Shimmin

Ann Woods
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The Education of Jane Cumming

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Movie Info

Synopsis Edinburgh, 1810. Teachers Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods embark on their dream of an independent life together and open a boarding school. Their lives are changed forever when a wealthy aristocrat enrols her "illegitimate" 15-year-old grandchild from India. The teachers struggle to integrate the girl who remains an outsider among her classmates. Miss Pirie and Miss Woods are brought closer to Jane Cumming when her grandmother insists they look after her over the summer. Private and professional lines blur, affection between them grows and they start to form an unlikely family. Tensions rise as the new term begins. The teachers are overwhelmed with the girl's increasing desire for closeness and their own changing relationship. As Jane Cumming begins to feel excluded from her new family, she demands to be taken home to her grandmother. An accusation follows which leaves the teacher's fighting for their lives, resulting in a legal battle that would last a decade and scandalize the Scottish establishment. Based on true events.
Director
Sophie Heldman
Producer
Bettina Brokemper
Screenwriter
Sophie Heldman, Flora Nicholson
Production Co
Heimatfilm
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 54m