Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Directed by Richard Eyre. Starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Andrew Simpson, Bill Nighy, Joanna Scanlan, Brian Bangs, Tom Georgeson, Michael Maloney, Shaun Parker, Linda Williams. [R]

Spinster schoolteacher Barbara Covett (Dench) befriends a young, pretty new colleague, Sheba Hart (Blanchett); her interests quickly become obsessions, however, and she sees the startling discovery of Sheba carrying on an affair with a 15-year-old student (Simpson) as less a horrific crisis than a sordid opportunity to get even closer to her new companion. This provocative movie with a sometimes-uncertain tone—it’s a dark drama with the delectable menace of a psychological thriller and flecks of satirical humor—will leave some feeling a bit queasy, but there are scintillating passages in Patrick Marber’s screenplay and a pair of performances from Dench and Blanchett that excel in spite of their challenging, booby-trap-laden roles. Rushed ending leaves a few too many unanswered questions, but the denouement gets the biggest mordant guffaw in the picture (followed by the desire to shout at the screen, “Run!”). Adapted from Zoë Heller’s novel. Juno Temple appears as Sheba’s daughter.

79/100