Notes on a Scandal

Taut, suspenseful and well done

Cate Blanchett plays an art teacher (Sheba) who inexplicably has a dalliance with a 15-year old student. Older faculty member Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) becomes aware of the affair and uses it as implied blackmail material to maneuver a close relationship.

Covett is an aging spinster, tormented by loneliness and carrying on an active interior life through her compulsive diary entries. When the affair is finally exposed, the consequences rip apart multiple relationships and set the stage for a disturbing pattern.

Judi Dench gives an absolutely devastating performance as spinster Covett. Sans makeup and with vice-over narration, Covett is a character that repulses and fascinates, even evoking some sympathy in her desperate search for human relationships.

Very good movie!
July 6, 2008

Very disturbing

I love Judi Dench, but need to stick to movies like "Cranford" when I want to see her, I guess. This movie is very disturbing. Only one person seems to have a bit of moral character and that person is Sheba's husband, who reacts with understandable and justifiable rage when he learns of Sheba's affair (not to mention the touching scenes of him with his and Sheba's Downs Syndrome son). I have learned my lesson about R rated movies. In this film, the gory details are graphically shown--sexual scenes between Sheba and a 15 year old boy, the same boy using aggressive, vile sexual language, a very violent scene where Sheba is beaten by another woman. We even get to see Sheba sitting on a toilet and then wiping her butt! Now what did that add to the story? It also appeared that Sheba's 13 or 14 year old daughter is sexually active. When Barbara comes over for brunch, the dad says to the daughter "he could have stayed" which implied that the boyfriend had spent the night. In another scene, Sheba pulls something up off the floor in her daughter's room and hands it to her daughter with a smile--I'm not certain, but were those boxer shorts? How I wish that we could have a smart, suspenseful thriller with great acting--and the acting is good in this movie--without feeling like you're in a cesspool with the characters. June 23, 2008

Tightly Wound

With today's spate of teacher/student sex scandals, this one feeds the appetite to understand how these things happen. You'll hate Judy Dench, but her acting is top-notch. The plot has a nice twist, not well concealed. The 'romances,' both of them, are not especially believable. A freak show, really. But worth watching, and definitely compelling. June 7, 2008

Worst piece of trash in years

When I rented this is came highly acclaimed. Watching this felt like a two hour dramatized episode of Jerry Springer. Absolutely nothing of real value in this film. None of the characters have morals. You can't even use them as societal harpees because we spend the first forty minutes of the film getting to like them. Horrible story. Awful direction. Atrocious editing. Avoid at all costs!! May 15, 2008

Earth-shaking drama

I'm sure most people already knew the outcome of the story before buying or watching this DVD. That being said, the actings are superb in almost every way. The most steamy part of this whole affair is the kissing and fondling, and they are tastefully done. For those that wished to see more skin, you can join one of the many adult sites that offer video clips of hot female teachers having explicit sexual relationships with her male students. April 24, 2008

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