Notes on a Scandal – An older woman takes advantage of a younger woman’s vulnerabilities and enjoys the fantasy of a love affair she narrates into her diary. Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) arrives at St George school as the new, first-year art instructor, after spending most of her adult life married to Richard (Bill Nighy), an older man, and raising two children, a teenage daughter and a ten-year-old mentally-retarded son. Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) teaches history and plays the role of the school’s stern, no-nonsense, morally upright matron, but secretly she covets the young hart and waits her opportunity. Sheba gets involved in an affair with a 15-year-old student; Barbara discovers the illicit romance and confronts Sheba with her knowledge. Secrets can create a bond. Sheba admits that for her marriage and raising children created an imperative in her life but not necessarily meaning. Musical score by Philip Glass. Another film in which cellphones and cigarettes are ubiquitous. The narrative’s point of view reminded me of The Collector, the movie based John Fowles’s novel.

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Copyright © 2007 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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