1 of 18

Write now Article Tools

Notes on a Scandal (2006) Starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Michael Maloney, Joanna Scanlan, Shaun Parkes, Emma Kennedy, Andrew Simpson, Phil Davis, Juno Temple, Jill Baker, Catherine Drew, Anne-Marie Duff.

Directed by Richard Eyre.

Running time: 92 minutes

Rating: R (Gross sexuality, coarse language)

Two female colleagues teaching at a public school in Britain become fast friends as the stern older one Barbara Covett (Dench) takes the younger, less experienced one Sheba Hart (Blanchett) under her wing.

Barbara shows Sheba that modern public education is more a matter of crowd control than actual teaching. They have to cope with a daily siege of useless brats and juvenile delinquents to supervise like North American teachers do. Barbara thinks she is respected but she is fact feared for her vindictiveness and because of that students know not to push her.

Sheba would still rather look for a diamond in the rough whose life she can improve. Barbara thinks she is silly to have such To Sir with Love aspirations but keeps her thoughts to herself. In fact Barbara keeps a lot of her value judgements a secret but writes them down in volumes upon volumes of notebooks.

But when Barbara catches Sheba orally gratifying (and I don't mean singing to him) an utterly repulsive and lewd 15 year-old special needs student things change quickly. Barbara is thoroughly and understandably disgusted at first. The audience may find the sight just as revolting.

Barbara then decides to use what she knows to blackmail Sheba into a lesbian affair with her. We see Barbara taking an extremely sick and perverse delight in the bad way her "friend" Sheba has found her self in.

This comes off after about thirty minutes in as a kind of an essay on the sexual perversions of some really ugly people. I don't just mean physically ugly either. I refer to the type drawn to power and dominance in sexuality. I have not tried it but I'm still going to knock it.

I have never understood the phenomenon of teacher-student romances. In North America it has become tabloid fodder and it would appear that every few months or so we hear of a new case where some Debra LaFave or Mary-Kay Letourneau is caught seducing very young boys.

The idea of psychiatrists becoming attracted to their patients I believe is referred to as "transference". I wonder if the teacher-student romance phenomenon is thought of in similar terms. In any event the characters, as well defined and well written as they are suffer from the

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Movie reviews: Notes on a Scandal?
We want to hear your view. Write now!