Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Director:

Richard Eyre

Writers (WGA):

Patrick Marber (screenplay)
Zoe Heller (novel)

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

One Woman's Mistake Is Another's Opportunity...

Plot:

A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Student | Art Teacher | School | Cat

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Judi Dench	...	Barbara Covett
Cate Blanchett	...	Sheba Hart
Tom Georgeson	...	Ted Mawson
Michael Maloney	...	Sandy Pabblem
Joanna Scanlan	...	Sue Hodge
Shaun Parkes	...	Bill Rumer
Emma Kennedy	...	Linda
Syreeta Kumar	...	Gita
Andrew Simpson	...	Steven Connolly
Philip Davis	...	Brian Bangs (as Phil Davis)
Wendy Nottingham	...	Elaine Clifford
Tameka Empson	...	Antonia Robinson
Leon Skinner	...	Davis
Bill Nighy	...	Richard Hart
Juno Temple	...	Polly Hart

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some aberrant sexual content.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Cavendish Hotel, Grand Parade, Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench and Anne-Marie Duff have all played Queen Elizabeth I. Cate in Elizabeth (1998), Judi in Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Anne-Marie in "The Virgin Queen" (2005).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Sheba is rampaging through Barbara's house in search of her journal, you can see a crew member in the mirror behind her as she goes to sit.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Barbara Covett: [voiceover of Barbara writing in her diary] People trust me with their secrets. But who do I trust with mine? You, only you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fit But You Know It

Jarring Notes Superbly Performed

Judi Dench and Cate Blanchet both have played the fierce Queen Elizabeth I in their careers and here they fight for the crown in a royal match that is as entertaining as it is jarring. Two civilized women breaking into very uncivilized patterns of behavior. A highbrow story with a tabloid sensibility performed with truth and gusto. Bette Davis would have killed for Judi Dench's part at the time of Baby Jane and although there is nothing grotesque in the way Dame Judy presents us her monster, the monster herself is grotesque. She explains, in a witty and consistent voice over, what's in her mind. The center of her intentions become so appallingly clear to us that Cate Blanchet's slowness to catch up becomes exasperating. Maybe her suffocating domestic situation throws her into the arms of her absurdity. She seems a woman searching for validation without any real vocation. A teacher who doesn't believe she can teach, a mediocre wife a light weight mother. Judi Dench is relentlessly solid in her madness made of longing and fears. I left the theater with a desperate need for a double scotch on the rocks, just to take a strange taste off my mouth.