Not as scandalous as you might hope (Notes on a Scandal (DVD))

Member Name: l-m-n-o-p

Product:	Notes on a Scandal (DVD)
Date:	17/05/07 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic performances, great soundtrack

Disadvantages: Unconvincing story, some scenes are unintentionally funny

Based on the 2003 novel by Zoë Heller, Notes On A Scandal was released this February to much critical acclaim and several Oscar nominations; for its stars, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, and also for its music score and screenplay, but we’ll come on to that later.

It tells the story of Barbara Covett (played by Dench); a lonely, elderly History teacher at a fairly average London secondary school. On to this pretty boring scenario bursts Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) – a young, beautiful art teacher. She’s new at the job, not very good by her own admission, and quite posh. At home she’s in a fairly loveless marriage to an older man (played by Bill Nighy).

Things start to get more interesting at school after Barbara discovers that Sheba has been having an affair – with a 15-year old pupil. Knowing this secret, Barbara becomes Sheba’s close friend and promises to keep things shtum, as long as Sheba agrees to stop seeing the boy. Thus begins a loyal (and for Barbara, life-affirming) friendship.

However, it soon becomes clear that Barbara’s friendship and secrecy come at a price to Sheba, and that Barbara expects this loyalty to be reciprocated – in a big way. As the story goes on, it becomes increasingly dark, and we discover that their relationship might not be quite as it seems…

Notes on a Scandal is an excellent example of an unpleasant narrator – Barbara Covett is an icy, detached, sometimes disturbing, and totally engrossing character. To her pupils she is the ultimate bitch of a teacher, but even with her supposed friend, Sheba, there is something quietly terrifying about her. In this role, Judi Dench is mesmerising, both on screen and in her deliciously dark voiceover. It’s through this device that the audience is able to glimpse the true viciousness of the character – her witty and cruel derision of all other characters, her hatred of practically everything, and of course her obsessive passion for Sheba.

Whilst always in the shadow of Dame Judi, Cate Blanchett is also excellent as Sheba, and the progression of her character, from naïve and frustrated teacher to scared and angry woman (via unwitting paedophile, of course) is well done. Similarly, Bill Nighy is brilliant as ever; totally believable and surprisingly explosive, although he doesn’t have that much time on screen.

However, Notes on a Scandal is also an excellent example of how great acting can’t disguise an average story. At its basic level, I just found it too unbelievable, especially the affair between Sheba and the boy. I didn’t think it was handled well either in terms of the structure and pacing of this section – I think this part was told in flashbacks, and a lot of time was spent on it although not a lot actually happened, so it felt quite slow compared to the rest of the film (which for the most part moved along very quickly).

For an Oscar-nominated screenplay, I was also surprised by the number of times it made me laugh unintentionally. Watch out for Barbara’s arm-stroking, and some of the dialogue between Sheba and the boy (which was every bit as unrealistic as the affair itself) – these had me and my friends in stitches, during supposedly serious scenes. Maybe it was partly because of whom I was seeing it with – several of my friends hated the film and were therefore laughing inappropriately in between counting the ceiling tiles in boredom – but there were definitely some moments that didn’t sound realistic at all.

Saying that, Barbara’s voiceover as I already mentioned is brilliant – intelligently written, blackly hilarious and sometimes tinged with sadness, these are the best scenes of the film. Also, I suppose the film should be applauded for tackling quite a taboo subject without beating around the bush, and for having some scenes that people will find a bit creepy and disturbing.

The other factor I was very impressed with was the score by Phillip Glass, known to me as the composer for The Hours. Whilst sounding very similar to that film (not that that’s a problem in my opinion) it’s electrifying and really powers the film forward in places – sometimes almost becoming a character in itself, if that’s not too clichéd. In fact, many will probably find it too unsubtle; in parts it is very loud and takes over the film rather than accompanying it. But as a completely non-expert in classical music, I liked it a lot.

Overall, I’m not totally sure how I feel towards Notes on a Scandal. When I first came out of the cinema I felt under-whelmed, which is strange considering the film gets better towards the end. But looking back on it, I’ve begun to remember certain scenes that were very good, and Judi Dench’s performance was unforgettable. It still doesn’t disguise the fact that the plot was a bit ropey – and yet the book was highly acclaimed. All in all, quite confusing.

Notes on a Scandal is worth watching for the performances alone, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would considering all the praise it’s had.

One for fans of intelligent, mature, character-based drama.

Definitely not one for fans of action movies.
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Notes on a Scandal isn’t released on DVD until June 4th, but you can pre-order it from www.choicesuk.com for £12.88. You can get the soundtrack for £10.79 from www.blahdvd.com, or the novel by Zoë Heller for £3.99 from www.amazon.co.uk.

Directed by: Richard Eyre

Starring:

Judi Dench … Barbara Covett
Cate Blanchett … Sheba Hart
Bill Nighy … Richard Hart
Phil Davis … Brian Bangs
Andrew Simpson … Steven Connelly

Classification: 15 (language and some “aberrant sexual content”)

Running time: 92 minutes

Year: 2007

My rating: 3 stars

Summary: British drama/thriller - great cast let down by the story