Notes On A Scandal Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
One Woman's Mistake Is Another's Opportunity...
Loneliness can turn one into a monster.
One woman's secret is another woman's power. One woman's fear is another woman's weapon. One woman's life is in another woman's hands....
Barbara Covett is a veteran and cynical schoolteacher who is close to retirement. She is barely tolerated by her less brilliant and acerbic colleagues who know nothing about her private life which consists mainly of taking care of Portia, her aging cat, and spending countless hours alone. The only means she has found to take the edge off her desperate loneliness is writing in her journal. When Sheba Hart, a younger, attractive woman, joins the faculty as an art teacher, Barbara watches her from afar and has nothing but caustic things to say in her diary about her clothing and her care-free manner. Despite her disdain for this woman, Barbara finds herself reaching out to her. Sheba responds by inviting her to dinner at her house to meet Sheba's lecturer husband, who is twenty years her senior, and their two children, a sexy and rebellious 16-year-old daughter and a younger boy with Downs Syndrome. Instead of opening herself to these people, Barbara immediately sees them as competition to be beaten in the battle for Sheba's attention. Later, when Barbara discovers her new friend in a classroom having sex with Steven, a 15-year-old from the school who has artistic talent; she realizes that knowledge of this secret gives her power over Sheba which she can use for her own purposes. Barbara promises to not tell anyone but insists that the affair must end immediately. Sheba says she will but finds herself drawn back to the boy again and again. Sheba seems uneasy with Barbara's friendship and is appalled when she discovers the older woman might have a sexual interest in her. The tenuous relationship between the two women reaches a crisis point when Barbara's cat is dying and she asks Sheba to go with her to the vet. She chooses to go with her family to see their son in a play instead. In revenge, Barbara sets in motion the scandal that will rock both their lives in ways they never imagined.
| Judi Dench | Barbara Covett |
| Cate Blanchett | Sheba Hart |
| Tom Georgeson | Ted Mawson |
| Michael Maloney | Sandy Pabblem |
| Joanna Scanlan | Sue Hodge |
| Shaun Parkes | Bill Rumer |
| Emma Kennedy | Linda |
| Syreeta Kumar | Gita |
| Andrew Simpson | Steven Connolly |
| Philip Davis | Brian Bangs |
| Wendy Nottingham | Elaine Clifford |
| Tameka Empson | Antonia Robinson |
| Leon Skinner | Davis |
| Bill Nighy | Richard Hart |
| Juno Temple | Polly Hart |
| Richard Eyre |
7.70 out of 10 (13123 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Brill, Dark, Witty....and "Marvelously Judi Dench/Cate Blanchett"
posted on 28 Aug 2009NOTES ON A SCANDAL is a Judi Dench "triumph" of brilliant wit, pain and a satanic passion for a woman out of reach in Cate Blanchett. Her "Judas" to her supposed friend and fellow teacher is an acting performance which will land Ms. Dench right back in "Oscar country". Too bad it is in the same year as Helen Mirren's magnificent "Queen" as Dench gives a show here in NOTES ON A SCANDAL that leaves you quite breathless to the last and final scene and fade out.Patrick Marber delivers a deliciously wicked, witty and crisply written script in NOTES, and it only enhances his reputation for giving an audience a story well developed and with characters that you can't take your eyes off on the screen. His writing in CLOSER was so brilliant and clever, but in NOTES ON A SCANDAL he hands Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett words that are zingers and with a strong blend of anger, pain and humor. Please, Patrick, gives us another film quickly! The "teacher/student" romance was well developed and the chemistry between the two actors was believable and very sexual, and one could understand the youthful passion delivered by a young man with a strong mind and body. I did at times have to listen carefully to the young actor's lines, but he delivered them like a pro.In the weeks ahead, I anticipate a "roar from the crowd" for this very dark and witty Judi Dench performance and who knows, she may upset "The Crown" in the end come Oscar time.
A Poor Excuse for a Movie
posted on 26 Aug 2009We were so happy that NOTES ON A SCANDAL opened locally and went to see it this afternoon. Opening weekend here, but a whopping six people in the theatre. Strange.It wasn't long before I found out why. Horrible musical score, wretched photography, overacted, way overdirected, and unrelated to anything resembling human behavior.After about ten minutes one of the three couples left. The rest of us stuck it out. Our reward for enduring this: we got to see Cate sit on a toilet and wipe her butt. Wow. We never got to see Garbo or Katherine Hepburn do that. What an accomplishment.
Notes On A Very Disturbing Scandal
posted on 24 Aug 2009Marber's excellent screenplay, derived from Zoe Heller's novel tells a very intriguing and disturbing story of an extremely judgmental manipulative closet lesbian's pathological obsession with a younger heterosexual school teacher. Director Richard Eyre does a superb job of unfolding the events and peeling the layers of each characters. The main character's voice-over is cleverly used as it touches sarcasm, humour (mostly dark) and moreover it perfectly outlines Barbara's personality. The dialogues too are equally sarcastic and poetic.This is no 'Single White Female', where the events are overdone and over-the-top. A lot of subtlety is used. Glass's magnificent score beautifully adds to the tone of the film. There are a lot of symbolism that one could easily miss. The actors skillfully downplay their parts.'Notes On A Scandal' boasts of three powerhouse performances. Judi Dench, in a negative role, is both hateful and sympathetic. It is indeed a very subtle and nuanced performance. Her narration, dialogue delivery, facial expressions, body language, reaction and spontaneity only shows how well she knows her craft. Cate Blanchett is equally fantastic. As the vulnerable, attractive and lost Sheba, Blanchett really gives her that quality which makes her desirable. In spite of the 'unforgivable' deed she commits, we sympathize with her and see why Barbara, Steven and Richard desire her. Bill Nighy is immensely effective in a smaller role.The scenes between Blanchett and Dench are both amusing and disturbing. The climax sequence between the two actresses is marvelously executed as it shows the finest examples of raw method acting between two actors. Throughout the film the tension is brilliantly built to lead to this explosive scene. 'Notes On A Scandal' is one of those rare films that a movie lover didn't know he/she has been waiting for. A must see.
Good actors but heavy Ick factor
posted on 22 Aug 2009I was drawn to Notes on a Scandal by its three stars -- Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy -- who are among my favorite actors. There is enough material here for a very good movie. Unfortunately, this is not it. The script borders on the melodramatic, and the performances likewise. I could not get past the fact that it was Judi, Cate and Bill up there, I never really was convinced that any of them had become their characters. Bill Nighy has one fine explosion scene that demonstrates he is capable of parts beyond what he has been playing, but the others seem to be competing for who can be the most dramatic, Judi with her strange, wacko spinster teacher and Cate with her ditsy blonde bombshell. In addition, let's face it, there is a heavy ick factor to the story and it's difficult to watch, especially if you have children or other young relatives the age of the boy in the story. I had hoped this film would be Oscar worthy but it misses badly, and Notes is going to have trouble finding an audience.
The scandal is that this film was ever made
posted on 16 Aug 2009Every once in a while, a film is met with widespread critical acclaim that it may well deserve on its artistic merits alone. Yet, for social and cultural reasons, the same motion picture may deserve to be roundly criticized. "Notes on a Scandal" is a case in point.The real scandal is that "Notes on a Scandal" was made at all. (Whether the P.D. James novel ought to have been written is a literary issue, and as such beyond the scope of this review.) "Notes on a Scandal" is being touted for three major Oscar awards: best actress (Judi Dench), best supporting actress (Cate Blanchett), and best adapted screenplay. In another year, it might have vied for Best Picture ... if the year was, say, 1965.A year after "Brokeback Mountain", we are entitled to something far more socially enlightened than this potboiler about an aging lesbian's obsessive fascination with a younger woman.At no time is the word "lesbian" even uttered, though it is plain almost right away that this is the essence of Judi Dench's character. At no time is there even the slightest hint that (a) healthy relationships are possible between women, or (b) a politically active community of such women exists.It is sad to see the talents of Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Nighy wasted on such a retrograde, reactionary, and ridiculous project.If you fancy that sort of thing, you would do better to see "The Children's Hour" (written by Lillian Helmann, starring Shirley Maclaine and Audrey Hepburn). At least, that motion picture was made in a social context where repression was rife, and was thus true to its times."Notes on a Scandal" is anything but.
Judi Dench as you've never seen her in cautionary tale against selfishness
posted on 14 Aug 2009For the last decade or two, Judi Dench has been both England and America's go-to girl for playing upper class grand dames ("Shakespeare in Love", "Pride and Prejudice") or prim but plucky little old ladies ("Mrs. Henderson Presents"). It must have been one hell of a delicious change of pace for Dame Judi to do a 180 and play a soul sucking, bitterly lonely teacher in "Notes on a Scandal". For once, her 2007 Academy Award nomination doesn't feel like another obligatory honor, but an honest to God testament to Dench's talent. With a bombastic combination of careful nuance and sinful relish, Dench portrays Barbara Covett, a wizened teacher at a lower class private school. Barbara is a desperately lonely person who, as protection against the cruel fact that she simply has no social skills, has developed a superior, curmudgeonly attitude towards the world around her. She feverishly records her disdainful thoughts in diaries, which we hear in voice-over narration. Barbara calls her students "proles", "future plumbers and shop assistants" who need discipline more than an education. She also harbors contempt for her co-workers: when one teacher announces that she has "great news", Barbara deadpans, "you're leaving the school?".One day, Barbara meets the attractive, bohemian new art teacher, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett). Barbara initially finds Sheba fey and latently snobbish, but soon she develops a growing admiration for the lovely new teacher, whose mere presence wins everyone over. Sheba's so darn nice, she befriends the unpopular Barbara and even invites her to her house to dinner a few times. Barbara believes Sheba's miserable with her family, which include her older husband Richard (Bill Nighy), sullen teenage daughter Polly, and son David, who has Down's Syndrome (even disability doesn't limit Barbara's cruel mentality, as she privately calls David "a tiresome court jester"). Barbara's pristine opinion of Sheba is tarnished when she discovers that Sheba is having an affair with Steven, a 15-year-old student at the school. Barbara confronts a deeply ashamed Sheba, but promises not to tell anyone... as long as Sheba ends the affair. Sheba is grateful, but the poor dear doesn't realize that Barbara isn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart, but has used this horrible mistake to set a trap. We soon learn that Barbara has had "special friends" like Sheba in the past, and things have a way of turning very, very ugly when her friends refuse to play nice. Alas, Sheba finds out the hard way, and more than one life will be shattered before the movie is through. I cannot praise Dench highly enough for her portrayal as a human parasite who preys on people she knows won't fight back. You're disgusted by Barbara's vampire-like behavior, but in the back of your mind you realize this is a person driven by a paralyzing desperation for human contact. She dominates the movie, yet Blanchett more than holds her own against Dame Judi. She brings a welcome dimension to Sheba, who could have been just an empty object of desire, but instead makes Sheba both maddening and sympathetic. She does have a rather "poor little rich girl" attitude towards life and is aware of her own good looks (notice the way she absently twirls her flaxen hair). Not to mention that she admits to feeling "entitled" to have an affair with Steven because she feels she's been such a good person, what with giving up her youth to marry and raise a family (Sheba's revelation makes you wonder if Mary Kay Letourneau shared this mentality when she had an affair with 12-year-old Villi Fulaau). But Sheba remains a tragic character, because you really sense she's just a confused pushover who desperately needs a wake up call, and it comes when she finally discovers Barbara's motives. Blanchett, a cool-headed presence up to this point, finally unleashes Sheba's rage and sense of betrayal with the ferocity of a cornered animal. It's stunning, Oscar-caliber work. The rest of the cast is also good, especially the ever reliable Nighy as the jilted husband. Nighy, who normally excels at playing "devil may care" types, breaks your heart when he discovers his wife's infidelity. "Notes on a Scandal" is an intelligent suspense piece and is a shocking cautionary tale about the poisonous effects selfishness can create on the lives of others.
Wicked!
posted on 12 Aug 2009I've been waiting to see this for a long time! Judi Dench plays Barbra Covett,a stern and lonely schoolteacher whom none of her colleagues really like.Then enter Sheba Hart played by Cate Blanchett,a new teacher whom Barbra takes a liking to.She finds herself connected to Sheba and that soon grows into attraction.And then Barbra finds out that Sheba is having a torrid affair with one of her 15 year old students...And then Barbra realizes that the ball is suddenly in her court..Notes gets you hooked from the very beginning especially with the performances.Dame Judy Dench obviously steals the show,playing Barbra,the lonely school teacher who finds a connection with her new colleague..Her presence is deeply felt and throughout the film you'll find yourself hooked on to Dench's character while she writes all her experiences with Sheba in her diary.Blanchett gives another sincere performance,followed by Alan Rickman who plays her husband.Overall,Notes is a wickedly good film and you'll quickly find yourself hooked on to the story...But watch out for Dame Judy Dench for she just might keep you glued to your seat anticipating her every move!
A strong, character-driven take on a genre that too often is excessive and tiresome
posted on 08 Aug 2009Barbara Covett is a history teacher who lives alone and is comparatively friendless. The one woman she was friendly with has moved on to another school in a better area but she still has her cat and her diary. When young art teacher Sheba Hart starts in the new term, Barbara keeps her distance to feel her out but she finds quite a nice woman with whom she thinks she can start a friendship. However the discovery of a scandalous secret in Sheba's life means that the relationship takes a darker turn.From a distance you could see this film as yet another entry into the Fatal Attraction / Single White Female genre in the way that it is essentially about a "normal" relationship that turns sour as it becomes steadily more evident that the "normal" person is actually a tad unhinged. However does this mean that we are going through the motions here and that we will end up with a Dench/Blanchett fight like it's some sort of Bafta Special of Celebrity Wrestling? Well thankfully no. The narrative does head this way to a point of course but it remains engaging and grounded, mainly down to the fact that the story is not strictly one of this specific relationship but rather it is the story of Barbara. This is clear from the fact that the only narration or inner thoughts we get to hear are from her and, although it is not told from her perspective, it is clear that she is the subject of the film rather than Sheba (who is Barbara's subject).The film paints out a convincingly real Barbara and in a way she reminded me a little of the "Lady of Letters" from Alan Bennett's Talking Heads. In her own world and journal she has developed this aloof attitude of one who is lonely but has convinced herself that she is more than happy to be so. But yet she also still has this edge of desperation, of being so much more needy than she will ever recognise. It is a very well written part and it goes without saying that Dench plays it perfectly – delivering in the detail and reigning in any potential for "bunny boiling". The story is well delivered and it is the characters that prevent you really questioning the internal logic too much because it does all convince both within itself but more or less within the wider world as well.Eyre's direction is good in terms of controlling his cast even if it does feel every inch a BBC TV film that has gotten ahead of itself. Blanchett works well opposite Dench; she knows that the film is not about her character even if her character is key in telling it and her performance is pitched well to reflect this. As another user has already humorously said, Bill Nighy is good as the Bill Nighy character but I was upset that Phil Davis did not get more to do as he is very good at the type of character he played here. Simpson is well cast and makes his character work pretty well considering the demands put on him by the narrative – something about his Northern Irish accent that makes me believe it (!).Overall then an engaging and well-delivered film. At first glance it is another crazy stalker movie but really it is much more than that as the characters are well written and convincing (even if aspects of the narrative aren't to the same degree) and the strength of the lead performances almost goes without saying as a given.
The Dame vs. The Cate
posted on 04 Aug 2009Instead of becoming the tawdry, salacious affair it could've easily been, two masterful and textured performances from two of our greatest actresses catapult "Notes on a Scandal" to the echelon of art-house entertainment. In one corner, we have Dame Judi Dench as the lonely schoolmarm and mentor. In the other corner, we have Cate Blanchett as the flighty but endearing new art teacher just begging for someone to take her under their wing. The film starts innocuously enough, with the two women becoming fast friends, with Blanchett inviting Dench into her home and family, and Dench all too eager to find a new best friend. Deliciously seasoned with spicy subtexts involving the bourgeois sense of entitlement, the bitterness of the lower middle class, the candidness of those with everything who never seem to be satisfied, the resentment of those sucked into this confidence, and of course, the psycho-sexual entrapments of all relationships, "Notes on a Scandal" is rife with everyday tragedy. The convoluted subtexts often take precedence over what is being seen on screen, until Dench's voice-over entrances us and sucks us in.In the early scenes where Dench is describing her burgeoning fascination with Blanchett, the audience shares in the allure as Dench paints beautifully the appeal of Blanchett's talents as an actress. Soon, though, the fantasy makes way for reality, and Blanchett as raw and vulnerable as she has ever been falls under the spell of a troubled 15 year-old boy with whom she begins an illicit affair. Blanchett's folly is mirrored in Dench's obsession with becoming her sole confidant.Director Richard Eyre (who previously directed Dench in the superb "Iris") structures the film in a crisp clip. As the plot quickly goes through the motions, secrets are revealed, true natures are uncovered, and the lives of both women become tragically entangled as they unravel.Enough can't be said about Dench's mastering of the thespian art form. She could've easily dived head first into this role and delivered something akin to Kathy Bates turn as the mad spinster in "Misery." Instead, she adds subtlety, humor, and melancholy in her perfectly balanced performance that allows you to sympathize with her character for the loneliness she feels while at the same time hating her for her opportunism and bitterness.Likewise, Blanchett, manages to play to our sympathies, and it's easy to see why Dench, the boy in question, and Blanchett's husband (a shockingly good Bill Nighy), are completely smitten with her despite her impetuousness.With betrayal leading to hatred and a complete breakdown of all things sacred in human connections, the climactic showdown between The Dame and The Cate is the type of goose-bump inducing acting tour de force moviegoers dream about. There's also a sense of a symbolic passing of the torch from one generation of great actresses to the next. Far from being just the highbrow version of "Single White Female," "Notes on a Scandal" entertains and provokes those willing to enjoy the psychologically complex roller coaster.
Brilliant
posted on 02 Aug 2009This is an intense movie with a brilliant cast. Judy Dench is a powerhouse and gives an Oscar winning performance! But alas she was not the queen to win it this year.The subject matter is fascinating and the characterizations are very believable. This could have been set anywhere and worked! A very topical subject.If you are looking for a great thriller, this is the movie for you. It will keep you glued to your seat and it will go fast. There is not one slow scene and the direction is excellent!If you liked the History Boys you will also like this one. It is interesting that they have come out so close together. See them both!
She's the one I have waited for.
posted on 31 Jul 2009This is one part horror film and partly a commentary of sociological events that are all to common in this country right now.After an almost exclusively male role as sexual predators, we hear more and more stories of female teachers who have prey upon children. Debra Lefebvre is in trouble again and Mary Kay Letourneau, Catherine Paul, and here in Florida, Jennifer Tarkenton was just arrested for having sex with a 14-year-old boy. She could have waited another couple of years as 16 is the age of consent in most states (Males should teach in Iowa or South Carolina as 14 is legal - and we give these people preference in selecting our President?) See Cate Blanchett trapped in that scenario, we cannot feel sorry for her, but I can celebrate a dramatically outstanding performance.I can also experience some schadenfruede as she gets to be the prey in the horror portion of the film.Judi Dench was also magnificent as the predator who sought out young women to satisfy her lusts. No laws broken, but she was scary as hell in a Dracula role.Kudos also to Bill Nighy as the suffering husband. Super performance.
Deliciously malicious
posted on 27 Jul 2009In an age when most movies stay well beyond their welcome you might feel short-changed by "Notes on a Scandal" which clocks in at an economical 92 minutes. I could have been doing with more of it, since Richard Eyre's brilliantly barbed, fiendishly entertaining little thriller is a malicious treat from start to finish. Adapted by Patrick Marber, who, in "Closer", has already shown he is a dab hand when it comes to vicious comedy, from Zoe Heller's novel, it is told in diary fashion by Barbara who seems to exonerate herself from the chaos she causes after she catches sexy new teacher Sheba, (the name itself is a kind of joke), giving a 15 year old pupil a blow-job. Knowledge is power and Barbara, a lonely lesbian, blackmails Sheba into becoming her 'friend'. When Sheba doesn't reciprocate to Barbara's satisfaction all hell breaks loose.Neither Sheba nor Barbara are clean-cut heroine or villain. Sheba may be a good mother to her Down-syndrome son but using her shaky marriage to much older Bill Nighy, (excellent as ever, but in too small a role), is hardly an excuse for carrying on an affair with one of her pupils, (Andrew Simpson, from my own home town of Derry, equipping himself nicely in his first major role). Likewise, Barbara evokes both terror and pity. She may well be the vampire Sheba describes her as and nothing can excuse the way she ruins the lives of those she comes into contact with but, initially at least, she comes over as the kind of woman you just might want in your corner when the going gets tough. (She 'meets' Sheba for the first time when she intervenes in a school-room brawl that Sheba can't handle).In these roles Judi Dench, (Barbara), and Cate Blanchett, (Sheba), are terrific. Dench, in particular, dispels the cosy image she has built up of late as the pathologically unstable older woman, stripping away layers of protective baggage to reveal the monster underneath. Oscars have been won for less. Sheba's role is underwritten. She is a cliché, (sexy teacher with a kooky past), but Blanchett adds, rather than strips away, layers to the character to flesh her out. Her distress is palpable. If this terrific, funny and unsettling little movie has a fault it's in Philip Glass' somewhat intrusive score. Glass' keynote motifs don't really add anything; Marber, Eyre, Dench and Blanchett have already put the meat on the bones.
Could Be Called Beauty and the Beast
posted on 19 Jul 2009"Notes on a Scandal" is like "Fatal Attraction" as produced by the BBC. It's wildly entertaining, tremendously acted, and deliciously tawdry. But it's also pretty smart, so this is one guilty pleasure you can enjoy without feeling too guilty about it.The scandal that gives the film its title -- a young and pretty art teacher named Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), who teaches in a rough-and-tumble lower-class English school, has an affair with a fifteen-year-old student -- is not a very original or interesting one. We've seen real-life versions of the same thing on our evening news, and we pretty much know how it has to play out. The filmmakers, therefore, are wise to use the scandal merely as a background for the far more interesting interplay that takes place when the teacher's dalliances are discovered by a lonely, spinsterish colleague named Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) who also happens to have one hell of a case of sexual repression. Barbara doesn't really care that the affair is illegal, nor does she care about the young boy (she's long since given up on teaching what she perceives to be a generation of thugs, and instead refers to modern-day teaching as no more than "crowd control"). She only cares that Sheba, to whom she's formed a sort of fascinated and obsessive attraction, cares for something and someone other than Barbara. She sees the opportunity to use her knowledge to her advantage, and manipulate Sheba into a friendship and perhaps something more. In a way, she acts like she and Sheba are sixteen year old girls, who share a harmless secret that they can giggle about together at sleepovers. Of course, this delicate balance can only last for so long, and tensions eventually boil over in a stupendous cat fight between Sheba and Barbara that goes down as one of the most marvelously acted scenes of the year.What I admired most about "Notes" was the intelligence of its script. You might think that Blanchett and Dench, two of the classiest actresses around, would be slumming it with material like this, but that's not so. The screenplay is sharp and incisive, and the two characters' back stories are filled with small details that make their actions and behavior perfectly natural and understandable. These are not caricatures in the "Fatal Attraction" vein. Sheba makes stupid decisions, but she's not entirely without our sympathy. Barbara is a nut job, but Dench plays her so well that we see the person behind the nut, and we don't know whether to loathe her or feel sorry for her. Dench's performance provides one of the most affecting and disturbing portraits of loneliness and isolation that I've ever seen. All of the talk this year has been about Helen Mirren in "The Queen," and while Mirren was spectacular in that film and completely deserving of all the praise she has received, I have a feeling it's Dench's performance that I will still be remembering a few years from now."Notes on a Scandal" revels in its excess, but it never lapses into silliness. There's a degree of cheekiness about the film, and you sense that everyone involved knows just how seriously to take themselves, which isn't too seriously. Indeed, almost every line that falls out of Dench's mouth, whether it be spoken to another character or part of the rambling voice over narration that we hear whenever Barbara is making another of her copious entries in her diary, got a laugh out of the audience I saw this with.And lastly, a word of praise for Philip Glass's splendidly frenetic score, that drives relentlessly forward and makes every moment feel more fraught with significance than it should actually be. I know many people find his scores intolerable, but I love them. They all sound the same, but when matched with the right material, they work beautifully.Grade: A
Take your seat and watch the opera unfold
posted on 15 Jul 2009I really enjoyed this film,i originally read the book and was gripped from beginning to end. I found the movie just as gripping as well as with great acting all round from the main leads.The story is linear and compact with frame after frame of drama. Set at a Islignton school school teacher Barbara is sitting on a park bench,just one insight into her solitary life and one very bitter woman for it.For what ever reason Barbara can't seem to relate to the rest of the world,condemned to live a life of spinsterhood. when new young bohemian middle-class art teacher, Sheba comes to st George she's fascinated by her, soon becoming friends but Barbara's habit for neediness spirals out of control when she finds out Sheba has been having affair with one of her students. with Barbara bitter voice over coupled with Phillip glasses score that lingers throughout the film,provokes the tragedy,black humour and dramatic moments in the film. NOTES OF A SCANDAL shows us what loneliness can do to some people.
Stunning film... but what about the music?
posted on 07 Jul 2009I probably don't have to go into details about the performances of the three main actors and their supportive colleagues - they are all outstanding and deserve every award which could possibly be given to them. Same goes for the script which was exactly what actors long for - well written, offering great characters and a fascinating plot. Just with a script like this a good actor can deliver a brilliant performance! What I found annoying after half the film was over and which bothered me more and more the longer the film grew, was the choice of music. And I don't mean songs or anything, I mean the music which makes the original soundtrack, written by Philip Glass.I haven't seen any of the other films he composed the music for so far, so I can't say I know his style. But at least in this case the music didn't fit the pictures at all, I thought while sitting in the cinema. It was roaring, blasting away, thundering like cannons in mid-fight... and the pictures showed a tense drama. Not an action flick. After a while it really got on my nerves, hearing these loud eruptions where subtle, creeping, goosebumps-inducing music would have been necessary. I heard elephants in a stampede instead of a cunning snake slithering towards her uncanny prey. That just didn't work at all for me. Judi Dench was so mean, so fierce, so creepy - and the music blasted that away and tried to tell me she was a stomping rhino instead.I wished for "small" music, getting under my skin, causing me to flinch while the nasty bitch was trying to destroy another person's life. Music, which would have supported the pictures, the actors' performances. Apparently both the director and the composer wanted a different thing than me. Pity.The film minus the music get 9 out of 10, the music gets 3 out of 10. It was great music, but completely in the wrong place.
Black, funny and over the top
posted on 23 Jun 2009Oh, yes... I did enjoy "Notes On A Scandal". It is very really black, very funny and sometimes over the top. Neither Judi Dench's or Cate Blanchett's characters are sympathetic (they both deserve what they get), although Bill Nighy, who is given little to do, is kind of saintly. It's a quite nasty and bitter film, but I really thought that "Notes On A Scandal" was wonderful and hilarious.Was that the correct reaction? I really couldn't say. I suppose that as much as you try to avoid it, all of us take our cues from the audience that surrounds us. On Saturday the laughter started from a middle aged couple a few seats away from me. I joined in, so did others, and it carried on from there.I've read a couple of mixed reviews and it seems that the critics were taking "Notes On A Scandal" all very seriously. They were surprised by the ambivalent tone and the fact that Judi Dench was playing such a horrible cow, but Judi Dench has often played horrible cow's. I'll include in that list her parts in "Mrs. Brown", "Shakespeare In Love", "Pride And Prejudice" and "The Importance Of Being Ernest". All cows and all horrible!Great film. Really enjoyable.
Review this film for Richard & Judy
posted on 19 Jun 2009Hello Film Lovers, Richard & Judy's Film Club returns next week with Notes on a Scandal (15), a tale of need, betrayal and dark secrets starring Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. The original book by Zoe Heller was one of our 2004 Book Club selections, and we are looking for viewers who have read the book to come along to a free preview screening of the film! If you can get to Central London on Saturday 27th January for 1.30pm, and are willing to stay after the screening to give us your opinions on camera, please contact us on 08703 66 22 33 Limited Places Available Over 18's Only unless accompanied by parent. All information can be found on the Richard & Judy Website www.channel4.com/richard&judy
Media Blitz - but no movie theaters????
posted on 17 Jun 2009Okay, I see a commercial for this film every hour on every major network, but I have to drive to Los Angeles to see it! Why ....?Hrm, I don't see the need to say much more, but it tells me the message is too short.So, are there any industry insiders that read these forums? Can someone please give me a specific reason why this movie is being media blitzed, yet is available to just a few people for viewing?This doesn't seem like an efficient use of resources - seems to me that they're spending much more on publicity than they could possibly make in these few theaters.Just wondering, because, since I love Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench so much, I'm still willing to drive into Los Angeles, and it's traffic and rude drivers to see them, anyway. :DOh, I know! You guys own Exxon stock right? (kidding!)Anyway, everyone have a fantastic New Year! :)
Brilliant!
posted on 17 Jun 2009This movie, which is not for the faint at heart, is one of the most wonderful films I have ever seen. The acting, direction and writing are near perfect. The story reminds me of Checkov's better plays, and I don't say that lightly, and I have never said it before in reference to a film. I was floored. Judi Dench is flawless and terrifying. Cate Blanchett is remarkable in a very difficult role. The rest of the cast are superior. My highest praise is saved for the director, who created a seamless, masterful, wonderfully enthralling story. Thank you for making this film. A true work of art.R Cowart
Brilliant actors, interesting story.
posted on 30 Aug 2009It is now obvious that Cate Blanchett maybe the most gorgeous, luminous and talented actress of her generation. Paired in this tragedy with the equally blinding talents of Judi Dench and Bill Nighly, the story unfolds effortlessly. The writers are also truthful and courageous which helps make the movie, believable and touching. It is interesting to see how the subject of the minor and adult sexual relationship is seen here. In another totally different movie, which I feel I have to quote, "Tadpole", a precocious and intellectually brilliant fifteen years old is in love with his fortyish step mother, and ends up sleeping with one of her best friends. It all unfolds in upper class Manhattan in a mood of nonchalance, understanding and humor. What a difference! It shows me that it might be time to put rigid rules asides and take each case individually, instead of accepting a harmful universal belief, which ends up destroying people's lives. After all, is "Lolita" a pervert story or a love story? To me, it is a love story.