For 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.
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.