Susan Granger’s review of “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
“In the old days, we confiscated cigarettes and ‘wank’ magazines.’ Now it’s knives and crack cocaine. And they call it progress,” observes North London school teacher Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), going about her duties. A lonely, working-class spinster, she leads a dreary life, solitary except for her beloved cat, until, suddenly, an earthy, attractive art teacher, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), joins St. George’s faculty.
Under the guise of friendship, Barbara insinuates herself into Sheba’s more posh life, relishing a weekend dinner invitation to meet her young colleague’s 20-years older, ex-academic husband (Bill Nighy), teenage daughter (Juno Temple) and Down’s Syndrome-afflicted grade-school son (Max Lewis).
“I can live on a crumb of anticipation for weeks at a time,” Barbara reveals in a voice-over, “but always in danger of crushing the waited-for event with the freight of my excessive hope.”
Clever, cruel and predatory, Barbara gradually extracts intimate confidences from Sheila, including a chaotic covert affair she’s been conducting with a testosterone-driven 15 year-old student (Andrew Simpson). Emotionally confused, Sheila hasn’t a clue that ever-helpful Barbara is actually a manipulative lesbian until she’s deeply enmeshed in a sordid cat-and-mouse game she cannot win.
Based on the novel “What Was She Thinking?” by Zoe Heller with a screenplay by Patrick Marber (“Closer”), director Richard Eyer’s (“Iris”) witty, character-driven drama crackles with psychological suspense – as Barbara meticulously records every nuance in her journal and Philip Glass’ score heaves with emotionality.
A consummate actress, Judi Dench artfully disguises Barbara’s obsession under layers of carefully modulated reserve, making Cate Blanchett pay a steep price for her tawdry indiscretion and naivetŽ. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Notes on a Scandal” is an ironic, intense 9. It’s a compelling story of trust and betrayal.
