Notes on a Scandal
2006 Directed by Richard Eyre
Synopsis
One woman's mistake is another's opportunity.
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
Cast
Popular reviews
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Excellent film about obsession, manipulation and falling in love with the wrong person. Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench were both outstanding!
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Judi Dench and Cate Blachett are both absolutely excellent in a film that is simultaneously lovely and disturbing.
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Excellent acting - most especially Judi Dench.
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A haunting and well done thriller with a very good screenplay and stella r performances
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A scandal of this type is something that I would normally not care too deeply about and even may try to ignore because of its cringe-inducing grip on me. But the fact that it's told from the point of view of Judi Dench's character made it so so interesting. And her dialogue as the narrator makes the movie something special.
"She says I'm too intense... meaning what?" as she digs her dead feline's grave... Dench's Barbara is an amazingly compelling chracter. Her actions and words ring true to a longing part in all of us.
"The opera was well into its final act..." she says. To see someone so sensitive and so hurt so in-control of the situation is an…
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We've seen it all before in films about schools, and in that school there is always a typical old battleaxe of a teacher who everyone is afraid to get in trouble with, but what we hardly ever get to see is what is going on in this stern persons head and what happens behind closed doors. Well Judi Dench shows us they are evil, manipulative, creepy and apparently very lonely! Latching on to Cate Blanchett's character when she first starts work as the new art teacher, and quickly becoming obsessed and hopeful of a deeper relationship with her. It doesnt take long for a dark secret to be revealed that she sees as her chance to get closer to her! Brilliant performances all round even from Bill Nighy's and Andrew Simpson's smaller parts as the teachers Husband and her 15 year old lover. A thrilling watch.
Recent reviews
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Both Dench and Blanchett were stellar in their roles. It is a must-see just for the two actresses' performances.
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Very good. Judy Dench and Cate Blancett are fabulous
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A tense and gripping film with fantastically powerful performances from Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench with a story which feels frighteningly real. The cinematography although basic and nothing out of the ordinary, does the job and the music is great although at times feels almost fantasy or dream-like. At times it can feel slightly like a TV movie but throughout it is constantly gripping and engaging making it hard to notice or worry about. The performances are what really shine in this film, Blanchett does a fantastic job as a woman who made a terrible mistake but is almost played around like a puppet by the equally fantastic Judi Dench. Dench's voice over is brilliant and cleverly leads the viewer through her perspective. Overall, a great film which throughout is gripping and holds some fantastic performances.
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I know that it's mean and trashy, but it's also impossibly funny.
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Though we can say that Notes on a Scandal has a somewhat similar plot to Fatal Attraction or Lolita but from the female point of view; nevertheless,it is much more than that. There isn't really something new about a film with such a theme but please note that what's interesting about this film is how it is told. It gives us a successful approach to the two characters and two ways of looking at life not only from an emotional standpoint, but also from a social perspective.This film interestingly is also a reflection on loneliness and solitude they both felt actual, and equally painful. It is an urban horror film, realistic. This film is but a duel between two top…
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Terrifying in its reality. Beautifully acted.
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A haunting and well done thriller with a very good screenplay and stella r performances
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Shrill melodrama that steadily goes off the rails, with some of the clunkiest product placement short of James Bond.
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Dench and Blanchett are both formidable and are well-served by a very adult, juicy script by Patrick Marber. It shows you how lurid they can go, given the right story.