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MovieMail's Review
Notes on a Scandal, based on Zoë Heller's best-selling, Booker prize winning novel, hinges on two destructive and ill-judged relationships. Sheba (Blanchett), a naïve, beautiful art teacher starts work at a North London school where Barbara (Dench), older, solitary and embittered by life, has worked for many years. Sheba embarks on an affair with one of pupils, a 15 year-old boy. Meanwhile, Barbara becomes increasingly obsessed with the younger teacher and – partly through her compulsive diary writing – manipulates her perception of their friendship into something more meaningful.
Being based on a popular novel is no guarantee of success; many adaptations feel disjointed even if you've never read the original. On the other hand, the literary craft and volume of background thought that the author has employed, if utilised well, can provide intelligence and weight to a film especially for its characters (explored more thoroughly in the much lengthier text found in a novel) and themes (essential for 'serious' novel, unhappily less so for films).
Notes on a Scandal squarely sits itself into the latter camp with its excellent screenplay and convincing performances. Given the pedigree of the contributors you'd expect nothing less. The screenplay was adapted by noted writer Patrick Marber (‘Blue/Orange’, ‘Closer’) who is well suited to the material's uncompromising relationships. The sterling cast – Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench and Bill Nighy – all acquit themselves admirably with their vivid characters constantly propelling the film forward.
While Blanchett's Sheba is utterly convincing, Dench's role is more demanding - stripped bare to reveal scrubbed skin and ingrained bitterness, her Barbara is a brave performance by any standards.
While its production values and cinematography look a little home-grown next to recent glossy British hits like The Last King of Scotland, the intelligent script and expertly drawn characters result in a gripping film that's well worth your attention.
Barbara Covett (Dench), a domineering and solitary teacher at a run-down London secondary school, soon latches onto the new art teacher, Sheba Hart (Blanchett). But when Barbara discovers Sheba is having an affair with a student, she gains a means of control over her, adding a dark element to their relationship.
