USER REVIEWS:
Oracle 9Easily defying subtle characterization, Richard Eyre's Notes on a Scandal stars Cate Blanchett as a new art teacher at a so-so school who creates an awkward, and sometimes tense friendship with fellow teacher, The magnificent Judi Dench. The film sets the stage for some showing off, easily allowing Blanchett--but more Dench--to transcend it beyond the norm.
Dench plays Barbara, a near retired history teacher who obsesses over young females; Sheba Hart (Blanchett) wasn't the first one: it was someone else named Jeniffer. Barbara keenly stalks her pray until one night she finds her with a 15 year old boy that was in her art class. Barbara now uses her. She visits more often and creates a tense grip on Sheba.
Adapted from Zoë Heller's book, the script accurately, but not greatly, nails the actual dialogue from the book itself. But rather than the script and the direction itself, which was excellently detailed, what really makes the film worth a damn is the clear and masterful acting from Judi Dench. If it weren't for The Queen's Helen Mirren, who unquestionably will take the prize on February 25, Dench would easily take that oscar; she is that worthy.
It would be a shame to see viewers denying themselves the acute pleasure in Notes on a Scandal. The film quietly grasps you until the whole thing is over. But in the end, rather than being one woman's obsession over females, it is really, and quietly, one reclusive woman's sympathy unraveling itself because of what she never had: Love.
-Oracle
madmitch 9What Oracle said pretty much nails it. I'll add that all the way through this fantastic movie, superbly acted, I felt like I needed to go have a shower to wash off the filth of the actions of the two women. Lies leading to lies, a trainwreck waiting to happen. An excellent film.
This movie is available on DVD/Video