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(Iris, Loose Connections, Notes on a Scandal, The Other Man, The Ploughman's Lunch, Stage Beauty, TV: The Absence of War, Play for Today, Rockaby, Suddenly Last Summer)
Producers:
Robert Fox, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich and Scott Rudin
Screenplay:
Patrick Marber (based on the novel by Zoe Heller)
Music:
Philip Glass
Cast:
Barbara Covett: Judi Dench
Sheba Hart: Cate Blanchett
Richard Hart: Bill Nighy
Steven Connolly: Andrew Simpson
Brian Bangs: Phil Davis
Sue Hodge: Joanna Scanlan
Sandy Pabblem: Michael Maloney
Bill Rumer: Shaun Parkes
Linda: Emma Kennedy
Ted Mawson: Tom Georgeson
Polly Hart: Juno Temple
Ben Hart: Max Lewis
Marjorie: Julia McKenzie
Annabel: Anne-Marie Duff
The one thing I didn't know about Notes on a Scandal
before watching it, was the nature of the scandal.
Often this is something completely unavoidable when a film is promoted all over the place, so I did well
to avoid that.
Thus, as we start the film at the beginning of a new term for a secondary school with the headmaster
(Michael Maloney) having a meeting with all the teachers to see what suggestions they have to
bring to the school and their respective departments. This is a good way to introduce lots of faces to
us, although not many of them have more than bit-parts. The key players are Judi Dench as Barbara
Covett, a seemingly-arrogant, embittered history teacher, while Cate Blanchett plays Sheba Hart,
the new, young, blonde art teacher.
Judi Dench has got the look of the elderly female teacher you remember down to perfection, her character
just oozing with obnoxiousness. The latter part of that is shown off perfectly in her running commentary
where she treats everything with disdain, the writing for this just wonderful.
It appears at first that Barbara can't stand Sheba, but it doesn't take long before she befriends her after
sorting out an altercation in her class. In fact, she becomes attracted to her, but Sheba's got plans of
her own as the scandal in the title involves a young schoolboy, and the notes are those written in Barbara's
diary as she jots down every last thought and recollection in her head, hence the commentary. Once Sheba
discovers that her new friend knows, she panics, but Barbara promises not to tell of what she's been up to,
so long that she ends the affair whilst remaining ever in her debt. Problem solved, then, yes? Well...
not really, since otherwise there wouldn't be any point in continuing the film.
It could also be said, for Sheba's judgement, that the lad she has it off with looks like Glyn from last
year's Big Brother! Who could fancy that? Either way, her children aren't impressed, made up of a
teenage daughter around the same age as Steven, plus a son with Down's syndrome.
Notes on a Scandal is a brilliant film with fantastic acting from all concerned, the leads fleshed out
by Bill Nighy as Sheba's husband, who's much older than herself, Andrew Simpson as Sheba's young
sire, Steven, plus support from those playing the teachers, Phil Davis and Joanna Scanlan (who
plays Terri in The Thick of It) and Julia McKenzie as Barbara's sister, all of whom get a
few minutes of screen time apiece, plus blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances from Emma Kennedy and
Tom Georgeson.
As an addition, there's a scene involving someone throwing up into a school toilet (I won't say who), and it
made me think that I'm sure any such convenience would be far cleaner than that. It looked like a prop from
Trainspotting
about the worst toilet in Scotland!
The only thing that does this film a disservice is that you can't really take it all seriously, so some
scenes that involve shouting just end up looking like a comic farce. Also, it doesn't help that some scenes
play out precisely as you'd expect in real life so there's no tension there when there should be some, not
that this badly affects the film as a whole.
That said, Notes on a Scandal couldn't ask for a more perfect ending - something so severely lacking
in most films today.
The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio and is anamorphic with no problems, but at
no point does it particularly dazzle you. Philip Glass' score is effervescent as it mirrors the ups and downs
in the characters' lives, particularly of those between Barbara and Sheba, so this is a rare time when I've
given high marks for sound to a drama film where you don't expect to have surround-sound moments. The rest
of the time, the DD5.1 sound is used mainly, and effectively, for ambience.
The extras are not plentiful:
Featurettes (19:39):
Three here, the first two presented in 4:3 and all with English subtitles. The first, The Story of Two Obsessions (12:21),
has all the key cast and crew members talking about how there's a lot more to the film than you first think
- but to go into more detail would be to spoil the plot, so I won't. Those commenting on the movie includes
screenwriter Patrick Marber, who I remember onscreen in, amongst other things, Knowing Me Knowing
You with Alan Partridge.
Then comes Behind the Scenes (5:11) which just continues this chat-to-camera and doesn't give any
of the usual 'behind the scenes' stuff you'd normally expect. Finally a brief one, In Character with
Cate Blanchett (2:07), the interview bit being shot in 16:9 letterbox but is presented within a 4:3
frame so the 'Fox Movie Channel' logo overlaps the letterbox image into the black bar at the bottom of
the screen. About the content, though? It's not much to bother with - too short to have any real value.
Webisodes (14:00):
Eight of these short pieces, or 'Webisodes' - so-called because they would have been made to be uploaded
online for viewing during the production - presented in 4:3 they all mix film clips with chat from the cast
and crew, a lot of which has been covered before in the featurettes, but it's nice to have these for completion,
since once the film and the website's been and gone, these will still remain on the DVD.
Theatrical trailer (2:25):
Presented in letterbox 1.85:1, don't watch it until you've seen the film as it contains spoilers.
Director's Commentary:
from Richard Eyre.
Before the film starts there are letterboxed trailers for The Last King of Scotland, A Good Year,
The Namesake, Sunshine and, for some reason, a bloody advert for Maltesers! What's wrong with
the Special Features section for the trailers? (Forget the advert - what a waste of time. If people buy a DVD
they shouldn't have that thrust at them)
The DVD menus are static and silent, there are subtitles in English for the hearing-impaired and there's a
decent amount of chapters with 20 spread throughout the 88-minute running time.
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
