In what was a banner year for serious British fare that actually found an audience, Notes on a Scandal managed to do the impossible: present an adaptation of a novel, with two female leads and little in the way of action or twists, and find both critical and commercial success. Dench and Blanchett are both excellent, easily deserving of their many nomination and awards victories, and they are given vital support from Simpson and Nighy, playing Blanchett's past and present lovers on both ends of the age scale.
There is little not to recommend here. Blanchett plays Sheba, a new teacher in a rough innercity school. Married to the aging Richard (Nighy) and with two difficult children, she is a woman looking for meaning and an escape from the humdrum. Once there she meets Dench's Barbara, a fearless experienced teacher who takes her under her wing. However, Barbara's intentions may not be entirely friendly and soon a scandalalous secret engulfs both women, providing an a release for one and an opportunity for another.
I will fully admit that this sort of film does not generally excite me. Even with good reviews it reminded me quite a lot of Enduring Love, the Daniel Craig/Rhys Ifans thriller. Both movies feature a shocking event that draws two people together, with the relationship becoming deeply one-sided and eventually terrifying. They also both star Nighy strangely (though he's in ruddy everything these days). However, Notes is so good, and the interplay between the two leads so gripping, that the time simply flys by.
Dench plays Barbara perfectly. A closeted, cynical spinster, she appears normal most of the time but the years of isolated loneliness have clearly take a toll. She suffers from the kind of delusional optimism that you see every day in the eyes of other, seemingly normal people. The belief that the person they focus their energies on will eventually return their affection, and they will no longer be alone. Her feelings towards Sheba are faithfully recorded in her diaries, and you see the the clear differences between her version and reality.
Dench's narration holds the film together, and is a fascinating insight into her mind. The juxtaposition between the narrative Barbara and the quiet listener we otherwise see is very interesting. Blanchett's Sheba on the other hand is given the task of being the talker, the explainer of her actions. Barbara's caustic comments on Sheba's priviliged middle-class upbringing strike home, especially after Sheba states that she felt 'entitled' to her affair.
The realism prevalent in the characters relationships runs right through the film. Not for Notes a crazed, violent ending or a shocking climax of any kind. What would happen in real life to each character is what actually takes place, and Barbara's final lines show how little she has learned from her experiences, but also how hope springs eternal. |
