Notes on a Scandal (DVD)

Having been wanting to watch this film since the Academy Awards; when it came through on loan from Amazon I jumped at the chance to watch it. The film had been portrayed to contain possible Oscar winning performances; from Dame Judy Dench and Cate Blanchett. Naturally, my curiosity was very high in this film. The film is an adaptation from the very well written book by Zoe Heller and focuses on Dench's character (Barbara) and her relationship with her 'friends', in particular, a teacher at the school she also works in who began a sexual affair with a 15 year old boy. At first this film seems to follow a minor shallow storyline, but after about 30 ...  Read the complete review

This film starring Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett is based on the novel by Zoe Heller. Judi Dench plays school teacher Barbara Covett a spinster lady who lives with her cat and who doesn't really mix with the other teachers in the school. Then a new teacher joins the school Sheba Hart played by Blanchett. The new art teacher is young, blonde and catches the eye of many. Sheba and Barbara start an unlikely friendship when Barbara steps in to help Sheba sort out some of the students who are misbehaving. Soon Barbara is invited to Sheba's house and meets her husband (Bill Nighy) and her children one of whom has Down's Syndrome. ...  Read the complete review

I was really looking forward to Notes on a Scandal but when I watched it I was slightly dissapointed. Sheba Hart played by Cate Blanchett is a new teacher in a secondary school, one of the teachers befriends her Barbara Covett played by Dame Judi Dench. Sheba falls for one of her pupils and has an affair, Barbara finds and confronts Sheba, although she makes out to Sheba she is going to be a friend to Sheba and support her while she sorts the mess out, Barbara has her own motives and plays on Sheba's vunerability to get what she wants. The plot is very good, but through out the film I was waiting for it to burst into action, I dont mean explosions and ...  Read the complete review

When married Sheba Hart first starts teaching at the school where Barbara Covett has worked for years, Barbara shows little interest in her. However, Barbara is a lonely woman with few friends and no partner, just a diary with which to share her feelings, and she thinks that she recognises a kindred spirit in Sheba. As she gets to know Sheba, she becomes more and more enamoured with her. Then she finds that Sheba is having an affair with an underage school boy, but rather than give her up to the authorities, she decides to use the knowledge for her own purposes. Will Sheba be able to keep her secret from her husband and children? And exactly what kind of interest is ...  Read the complete review

When I watch a film I sometimes find that I have a completely different experience than most of the audience. Film makers create characters in a certain way so that audiences will either love or hate them. With my peculiar tastes I sometimes find myself liking the bad guys and detesting the goodies. Two prime examples are 'The Cable Guy' and any film starring Tom Cruise. In most Cruise films we are meant to sympathise with him as a hero - personally I find his arrogant and annoying. In the case of 'The Cable Guy' I found Jim Carrey's character to be ok. He is meant to be creepy, but obviously Hollywood screen writers have never hung out with me because the Cable ...  Read the complete review