Notes on a Scandal Review

REVIEW

I’ll admit it. I’ve had friends like Barbara Covett – lonely, desperate, seemingly nice but mean, mean, mean down at their core. And I don’t believe I am alone in this. I think we have all had those “friends” who take advantage of us, use us for their own devices then simply discarded our friendship like a dirty Kleenex. That’s why Notes on a Scandal, a small but mighty flick from Fox Searchlight Pictures, has such power, such ability to grip an audience and not let go. Well, that and an amazing performance Judi Dench. Oh, and Cate Blanchett. Ok, so I guess there are a lot of reasons.

Notes on a Scandal is the story of Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), a frumpy, loner school teacher at St. George public school. Her world is empty, devoid of meaning or entertainment until the bohemian and free-spirited Bathsheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) takes up post as the new art teacher. Sheba soon finds herself in the throes of a taboo relationship with one of her sensitive and promising students, Stephen Connolly (a jarringly absorbing and aggressive Andrew Simpson). Barbara, as Sheba’s trusted confidante and shoulder to cry upon, discovers that if she plays her cards right she will have the power to keep and control her new “friend” . . . forever.

Judi Dench is utterly captivating as the acidic and brutally honest Barbara. Usually polished and elegant, Dench wipes the slate clean, proving herself remarkably believable as an isolated, spinsterish cat-lady. Easily the master of the school – striding through the hallways, commandeering the classrooms, keeping order and limiting any and every expression of youthful exuberance – Dench takes Barbara into the realm of the terrifying, unnerving and creepy without missing a single step.

Blanchett flawlessly sculpts Sheba into the perfect and polar opposite of Barbara. Willowy, free, luminous, Sheba floats above it all, seemingly living in a world without consequences. Slowly pulling us with her into the realm of the taboo, Blanchett skillfully walks the line between sympathy and scorn. Her untouchable status and own willful choices to destroy the shallow happiness she lives in makes her descent into anguished turmoil and mayhem all the more illicitly enjoyable. When instructed to not think about pink elephants, Sheba thinks of them for us.

Director Richard Eyre superbly directs these two powerhouse performances, molding them into the heart and soul of the film. Our emotional response to these women and their brilliantly crafted story is instructed, developed and spurred on by Phillip Glass’s original score. The music in many ways makes the movie for Glass manages to capture the drama, the silence, the trauma, the fear of each moment. The score sucks you even further in and guides your every emotional step – causing you to rise and fall, drop to a whisper or crash into a mighty crescendo with each progressive scene.

Ultimately, Notes is a deep and insightful look into the pitfalls of relationships. Beautiful and grotesque, edifying yet potentially fueled by obsession, we take for granted that the relationships that we live with day in and day out are beneficial. Notes on a Scandal poignantly digs into the selfish reasons and motivations for friendship and lays them bare for the world to see. It is truly a mean psychological treat.