Notes on a Scandal (2006)

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razorlupin
Performances and plot are great! It leaves you totally uncomfortable, in a positive thriller way. I highly recommend it. 10 years 7 months ago
neocowboy
Gold stars abundant. 11 years 5 months ago
Siskoid
In terms of performances, it's hard to find fault with Notes on a Scandal. Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett... Bill Nighy! But I'm afraid I still will.
Set in a high school in Britain, the film is about toxic relationships. On the one hand, Blanchett is the new teacher who falls into an upsetting relationship with a student; on the other, Dench's character is a self-described battleaxe at the same school who becomes enamored with her and slowly but surely tries to make her dependent on their "friendship". So far so good. Except that Blanchett macking on an under-aged actor made my flesh crawl, and it's a plot I feel isn't very served by the introduction of a thriller villain into the mix. Firstly, because it's a bit of a hoary cliché, and second because the Single White Female element takes over the story and seems to excuse the teacher's criminal affair, at least from the viewer's emotional point of view. And it's not like it's a shocker, since it's being told from the villain's perspective. Annoying that there's such good writing and acting in it because the structure and tone don't really work.
2 years 5 months ago