Director: Richard Eyre  (Many TV productions and Shakespearian Adaptions for TV)

Screenplay: Patrick Marber

Based on Novel by: Zoe Heller her first novel was Everything You Know 1999

Stars: Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett

 

Notes on a Scandal takes the audience on a rather turbulent and calculating journey through the journals of Barbara Covett, miraculously and meticulously played by no other than 007’s “M”, Judi Dench. Barbara is your stereotypical old maid schoolteacher, “not popular but respected”, as her own words describe her to be. It is obvious she has grown quite cynical over the many years from her experience as a teacher. 

She meets up with Sheba Hart, played wonderfully by Cate Blanchett.  Barbara tries to befriend Sheba with the hopes that their friendship progresses to something more, increasing the audience's suspicion that Barbara dabbles in love that dares-not-speak-its-name.

Sheba is an unfulfilled housewife and mother of two, one child being mentally challenged. Her husband Richard, played by Bill Nighy, is several years older than her. Their Bohemian lifestyle, as Barbara discounts it in her diary, may actually be part of the reason that Sheba is attracted to a 15 year-old boy in her art class.  The fact that we find out Sheba lived a rather wild life in the past also gives us some insight as to why she was seduced by such a young person into an illegal game of ‘slap and tickle’.

Sheba invites Barbara into her escape room, which is a separate room off from the main house.  It acts much like Barbara’s treasured diaries, except you can sit inside it and secrets are never put to paper.

Sheba’s 15 year-old lover, Steven Connolly, portrayed very sensitively by Andrew Simpson, is a special needs student with a gift for painting and drawing. Their affair begins when Sheba offers to tutor Steven.  Steven’s artistic gift becomes the catalyst for his and Sheba’s affair. 

One night, during the school’s Christmas play, Barbara catches Sheba and Steven in the art classroom.  Barbara decides this is the perfect opportunity and the break she needs to sway Sheba into a more involved relationship with her. In the meantime, Barbara comforts Sheba and offers to help Sheba by keeping Sheba’s indiscretions a secret, provided that Sheba gives up seeing Steven.  Easier said than done when Steven is constantly stalking Sheba, even going so far as to send her sexually explicit text messages.

Barbara tries to blackmail Sheba into having a relationship with her, but Sheba manages to squirm out of Barbara’s sticky web.  Eventually, as expected, the secret gets out and what follows is considerably less than pretty.  This movie almost has a similar feel to it as the film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.  It starred Betty Davis and Joan Crawford.  Both movies have an eerie feeling to them, simply because one fears the main character rather than feels sorry for her.

While sitting with a friend from work, who is a big movie buff and clearly has higher than average taste in movies, we both came to the same conclusion.  First, this movie has earned a grade of A—and second—if it wasn’t for that other movie about some famous queen of England, we might just have spent two hours watching the recipients of the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards for this year’s Academy Awards presentation. I’d say plenty of time to weave quite a tangled web.

• Official Site