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Review #390 of 365
Movie Review of Notes on a Scandal (2006) [R] 92 minutes
WIP™ Scale: (1st viewing $14.50 + 2nd viewing $14.50) / 2 = $14.50
Where Viewed: Harkins Cine Capri at Northfield 18, Denver, CO
When 2nd Seen: 6 February 2007
Time: 8:05 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Trailer
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Richard Eyre (Stage Beauty)
Screenplay by: Patrick Marber (Asylum) based on the novel What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Judi Dench (Casino Royale) • Cate Blanchett (Babel) • Andrew Simpson (Song for a Raggy Boy) • Bill Nighy (Flushed Away) • Juno Temple (Pandaemonium) • Max Lewis (debut)
Soundtrack with original music by Philip Glass: 
— or — order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Note: This is a spoiler review for Notes on a Scandal. If you would prefer to read the non-spoiler review first, please click here.
A second viewing of this Richard Eyre masterpiece featuring two of the most brilliant actresses of their respective age groups, Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench, permits one to focus more on the finite moves they make in constructing the nuances and depth of character in their two beguiling leading female roles repectively as married mother of two and obsessive spinster.
Cate Blanchett Buy From Art.com
Sheba Hart (Blanchett) evolves from a timid new art teacher mum of a child with down syndrome and a pesky teenage daughter, and wife of a much older college professor (Bill Nighy) who must have seemed fantastic and enlightened in her youth but now looks passive and positively reclusive when compared to her fifteen year-old student Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson) into a daring and exhilarated younger woman satisfying her need to be 'bad' and live dangerously when young Steven entrances and eventually enraptures her into a secret love affair. Like it or not, he manipulates her into seeing him as a needy young man with a physically abusive father and a dying mother (both lies) and seduces her with his charm and open, raw affection and faux vulnerability. A study of his character too is a worthy exercise though vastly underplayed in the Patrick Marber script. As easy as it is to see him as the victim of her adult mistake and our laws which categorize him clearly as a minor below the age of legal and emotional consent to his actions, thus is hardly the case. While unhelpful legally, the truth of the matter is that he is an equal and driving partner in the relationship which may have begun as infatuation and 'puppy love' in his mind at the start but blows up into a cruelly complex affair of manipulation on his part right down to a candid conversation they share when she finally confesses to him that their relationship has been discovered. He lays it on the line for her that this was just supposed to be fun for him and that he really cannot help her with any of her obvious problems. Obviously, while he realizes he'll experience discomfort upon the revelation of their affair, he'll gain from it, while she'll lose much, much more. He understands all too well the social status of a young buck who snares a gorgeous older woman vs. a older, female teacher who has an affair with a student. Of course, contemplating the societal stigmas that would emerge from this same story with genders reversed is a worthy exercise as well to deconstruct the inherent sexism in how our acceptance of lack thereof hinges gravely upon the gender stereotypes still to which we cling staunchly.
Judi Dench Buy From Art.com
Nearly bumbling into what will emerge a triumphantly serendipitous and life-changing occurrence for her is veteran teacher, moral guide for the faculty, self-describe battle axe Barbara Covett (Dench). A chance encounter where she breaks up a fight between two boys, one of whom is Andrew Simpson, rescuing the new Ms Hart from a potential utter demolishing of her authority with students, plants the seeds of a relationship rooted firmly in her mind and brought to delectable life via fantastical writings in her thoroughly imaginative and fanciful diaries. Barbara, as becomes apparent subtly, endures a complex psychosis rooted in obsessive-compulsive behavior disorder with a twist. She doesn't seek cleanliness or count words in sentences or know the exact number of steps between her chair in her classroom and the nearest coffee urn, no hers is powerful obsession for a deeply entangled emotional relationship with another person—she leans toward other women adding to the challenge in forming such bonds. Having scared away her last 'love', a young teacher named Jennifer Dodd who finally had to move and acquire a restraining order to keep her away, Barbara quickly sets her sights on the newly hired art teacher, Sheba Hart. Her new object of obsession falls into her virtual arms, delivered signed and sealed, when she uncovers Sheba's relationship with Steven. Deftly she turns Sheba's concern for the necessity for Barbara to turn her in, toward her advantage. Rather than taking this to the head master and creating scandal for the boy, Sheba, and the school, she's going to say nothing, and instantly create the much-desired tether between the two. This time in the form of a powerful secret that shall bind them inextricably, in her mind, forever. Sheba, of course is so grateful for Barbara's counsel and friendship and loyalty. Prudently, Barbara demands the affair be ended for the sake of all parties. But, Sheba's needs and Steven's adoration compel her to continue. A brutally stunning scene where Barbara wiggles her way into a position of greater one-sided affection, catalyzes the events that eventually lead to the down fall of everything. After sharing a late Christmas gift, an engraved picture frame for Barbara's cat, Barbara elects to snare the opportunity to get closer physically with the woman with whom she has become obsessed. This exercise, however, ends badly with a shunning by Sheba, and even worse when Steven pays an unexpected visit and reveals his identity when Barbara grabs and answers Sheba's cell phone with a gravid Steven Connelly on the other end. Realizing again that she's been played a fool, Barbara seizes the moment to exact further concessions from Sheba, but alas Barbara goes too far in forcing her to choose between staying with her as her cat is put to sleep or going to see her own child in his first school play. Choosing her son over Barbara is perceived as scorn, and pushes Barbara to capitalize on another circumstantial visit. This time, an athletic coach pops up at her door claiming love for Sheba himself. Seasoning her sentences carefully, she reveals Sheba's secret to the coach knowing all too well he won't sit long on the information bringing the affair to light. The avalanche, once started, barrels down the mountain wreaking havoc on the previously stable lives of everyone involved. The real victim of the affair is Sheba's family, especially, Richard. In one final sentence, one man's downfall is another's gain, he asks her to leave and take some time away from the family. She's nowhere to go but into the awaiting arms…er home of her dear friend Barbara, who also lost her job due to the school head, whom she does not realize was the one who indirectly exposed her. At least, not until a month later when she's reached rock bottom in her realization that she will be facing prison charges, and a tiny gold star and a crumpled ball of paper in the trash reveals the truth of Barbara's less than clandestine motives all along. Journal entry after journal entry, the so-called 'notes on the scandal' lead Sheba down the path of obsessive madness that has been Barbara's life for the past few months as she has imagined a life worth living with her Sheba. Sheba has it out with Barbara feeling half torn over the duplicity and the other half feeling she got was was coming to her for her affair in the first place. She returns to Richard just before her sentencing of 10 months to prison. The film ends with a retired Barbara taking a spot on her favorite park bench on a hill overlooking London next to Annabell, perhaps her next hopeful conquest, and a brief discussion between the two. It seems that, despite the lessons learned for Sheba, Barbara's mental illness rages on unchecked.
Moment after moment, as the plot thickens, the power of these two performances grows as well. Dame Dench proves herself to be the true successor to the like of Katherine Hepburn when it comes to playing roles later in one's career and still retaining the most impeccable of brilliance in the performance. As for Cate Blanchett, she's well on her way, beauty intact, toward the footsteps, perhaps of Meryl Streep. The breadth and diversity of her talents make her a worthy successor. The writing in this script, the diction and language was extraordinary at times as if Patrick Marber contemplated each successive word until it could be savored. Truly, one must sit back and ponder, upon seeing this film a second time, how on earth it was passed up in the nominees for Best Motion Picture. The work of both actresses, gratefully, was acknowledged with nominations, however; and that, at least, is laudatory. Philip Glass's mesmerizing original score, too, received a nomination as did Mr. Marber's screenplay. Overall, Notes on a Scandal is an extraordinary film, and it should not be missed while in theatres.
Moment after moment, as the plot thickens, the power of these two performances grows as well. Dame Dench proves herself to be the true successor to the like of Katherine Hepburn when it comes to playing roles later in one's career and still retaining the most impeccable of brilliance in the performance. As for Cate Blanchett, she's well on her way, beauty intact, toward the footsteps, perhaps of Meryl Streep. The breadth and diversity of her talents make her a worthy successor. The writing in this script, the diction and language was extraordinary at times as if Patrick Marber contemplated each successive word until it could be savored. Truly, one must sit back and ponder, upon seeing this film a second time, how on earth it was passed up in the nominees for Best Motion Picture. The work of both actresses, gratefully, was acknowledged with nominations, however; and that, at least, is laudatory. Philip Glass's mesmerizing original score, too, received a nomination as did Mr. Marber's screenplay. Overall, Notes on a Scandal is an extraordinary film, and it should not be missed while in theatres.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring Notes on a Scandal (2006)
Cast Members
Judi Dench
• Cate Blanchett • Andrew SimpsonBill Nighy
• Juno Temple • Max LewisDirector
Richard Eyre
Screenwriter
Patrick Marber
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Notes on a Scandal (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Fatal Attraction 2007 might describe the psychological thriller, Notes on a Scandal, starring Judi Dench as Barbara Covett, an obsessed school marm self-described battle axe who gains total control of a young new art instructor, Sheba Hart, played by the stunning Cate Blanchett, when Sheba gives into her primal urges and has consensual sexual relations with one of her 15-year old students, Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson) and Barbara finds out. Richard Eyre did a fantastic job directing Patrick Marber's script based on Zoe Heller's novel, What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal. The casting was superb, and Eyre paces the film marvelously. Philip Glass's musical score adds an edgy tension to the drama. The result is a film ranking among the best of the year--a satisfying, engrossing tour of the lives of the, to quote Barbara, "bohemian bourgeoisie" and the havoc one obsessive woman can wreak when scorned.
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