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Notes On A Scandal [2007]
![Notes On A Scandal [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BOBWN357L._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £3.64 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Gold stars to all for this taut psychological thriller based on Zoe Heller's novel that that gets more insidiously twisted as it unfolds. Oscar-nominated for her chilling performance, Dame Judi Dench gives a master class as schoolteacher Barbara Covett, a frumpy, friendless, and flinty spinster who lives with her cat. A formidable presence, Barbara is standoffish with colleagues and not one for students to trifle with (not that they'd dare). Cate Blanchett, also an Oscar nominee and winner of several critics society awards for her impassioned performance, costars as Sheba Hart, the new, overwhelmed art teacher who first becomes enthrall to Barbara after she steps in to help Sheba discipline unruly students. Barbara cultivates a friendship, and insinuates herself into Sheba's chaotic life, which includes her older husband (Bill Nighy), teenage daughter, and a son with Down's syndrome. Then, Barbara catches the reckless Sheba in a compromising position with a 15-year-old student (Andrew Simpson). Seizing her opportunity, the calculating Barbara does not turn her in. Rather, she wants to "help" her. "She's the one I've been waiting for," she writes in the journals she meticulously keeps, and which provide, in voiceover, her corrosive commentary. This all sounds very Fatal Attraction, but no boiling rabbits, please; we're British. Philip Glass's Oscar-nominated score accentuates the growing menace. Though there is little in these characters to admire, (one would think GLAAD would have something to say about the predatory turn Barbara's character takes), Notes on a Scandal is a compelling tour-de-force for its Grade-A cast. --Donald Liebenson
A sordid and emotionally dishonest film
Review date: 2008-06-22 Rating: 2 out of 10
I found this film sordid,depressing,emotionally dishonest and odious. Apart from Polly (Juno Temple, excellent as usual) and Max Lewis as her brother Ben, no-one in the film is likeable; everyone else is selfish, appetitic and ultimately boring. It is not believable that Cate Blanchett's character would fall for a totally charmless 15-year-old yobbo whose idea of romance is sending her obscene texts. As for Judy Dench's character Barbara, ultimately she is just a cliched lonely spinster with dark motives, general creepiness, and covert lesbian tendencies.
I cannot understand why anyone would want to make this film. There is next to nothing redeeming about it and it does not illuminate anything. 'The Killing of Sister George' is a much better film on a roughly similar theme, and Beryl Reid's character wins our sympathy,which Barbara never does.
A big disappointment, with three actors - Judy Dench, Cata Blanchett and Bill Nighy, who are absolutely wonderful at their best and should have known better than to be in this.
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Reviews
Notes on a scandal
Review date: 2008-05-09 Rating: 8 out of 10
As expected with a cast of Judi Dench and Cate Blanchet, very easy film to watch. The film kept your attention throughout. Would recommend to all.
Not brilliant and not bad!
Review date: 2008-04-03 Rating: 6 out of 10
Film was ok. Cate Blanchet and Judy Dench excellent but the Philip Glass score was abysmal and far too loud. I turned off the surround sound and it was still too loud. Real enjoyment of the film was ruined.
Boring
Review date: 2008-03-31 Rating: 4 out of 10
I just found this film boring. Judi Dench is supposed to be a sinister evil spinster but I just found the film progressed too slowly. I simply lost patience before we even reached the half way mark.
How to hate
Review date: 2008-03-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
It is a tribute to the acting of Judi Dench that you feel justified in hating her (or rather her character - Barbara).
Right from the first scene the attention is grabbed and you can't wait to see what happens next.
The other main character - Sheba - is played by Cate Blanchett, but when my wife remarked "much better than in her role as Queen Elizabeth" (in Elizabeth the Golden Age), I had not even registered it was the same actress - I was absorbed by the character. In fact I initially though of Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love!
I had not read the Zoe Heller novel, so the plot was new to me. My wife had read the book and thought in this case the film is better (whereas normally the editing process to condense a book to fit the time for a movie loses too much).
Well acted and deserves the award nominations.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Tom Georgeson
Joanna Scanlan
Cate Blanchett
Judi Dench
Michael Maloney
Director(s):
Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036033350
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2007-06-04
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 88 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007-02-22
Language: English (Original Language)