Notes on a Scandal

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Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Genre: Drama

Director: Richard Eyre

Certificate: Notes on a Scandal was rated 16 by the Irish Film Censor's Office (www.ifco.ie) i.e. suitable for those of 16 years of age or upwards.

Violence = moderate. Drugs = mild. Sex/Nudity = strong. Language = strong.

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Notes on a Scandal

Review

Film wise its been a fine start to 2007 and I can add Notes on a Scandal to the list. Here we see Barabra Covett (Judi Dench) as a lonely school teacher (and closet Lesbian) who has been teaching history for 30 years plus in an inner London school that has little to offer in the way of glamour or reward. She is delighted when Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) a young and beautiful art teacher arrives at the school and appears to be a breath of fresh air. Sheba and Barbara develop a friendship of sorts, though they really have little in common, but this is soon tested when Sheba embarks on a torrid affair with a 15 year old Irish pupil, and Barbara witnesses one of their illicit trysts and turns it completely to her advantage.

She becomes obsessed with Sheba, and whilst agreeing not to discuss the matter with anyone on the proviso she ends the affair immediately, she emotionally blackmails her with psychological mind games in an attempt to destroy her marriage and her career in the fervent hope she'll eventually become a part of Barbara's life permanently, and whilst doing this is recording all her thoughts and fantasies in her trusted notebook. Of course her long term plan is undermined by external factors surrounding the affair and we see events take their own course, with Barbara losing control of the situation completely.

Dench gives a first class performance, (probably one of my favourite to date), she is controlling, devious, manipulative, puritanical, and a seething melting pot of so many other traits, following a lifetime of frustrations on so many levels. Blanchett is excellent as the fragile but passionate Sheba, and the two of them on screen together is quite wonderful to watch. It is an intelligent well crafted film, its two greatest assets being one of the best scripts and truly thoughtful dialogues I have had the pleasure to watch screen for quite some time.

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If I have any reservations the soundtrack was quite awful and failed to enhance the film at all, and I felt with such wonderful characterisation they may well have ‘beefed it out’ for another 15 minutes or so as the film seemed to come to an end a bit earlier than I would have liked… but that aside it's a gem of a film. Go see it!

Reviewed by Mary Kate, Premier Movie Reviews 2007.

Main Cast

Judi Dench

Cate Blanchett

Tom Georgeson

Michael Maloney

Joanna Scanlan

Shaun Parkes

RATING