Notes on a Scandal (film)

Notes on a Scandal
Promotional movie poster
Directed by	Richard Eyre
Produced by	Robert Fox Scott Rudin
Screenplay by	Patrick Marber
Based on	Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
Starring	Judi Dench Cate Blanchett Bill Nighy
Music by	Philip Glass
Cinematography	Chris Menges
Editing by	John Bloom Antonia Van Drimmelen
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release date(s)	25 December 2006 (2006-12-25)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£15 million
Box office	$49,752,391

Notes on a Scandal is a 2006 British psychological thriller film, adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Zoë Heller. The screenplay was written by Patrick Marber and the film was directed by Richard Eyre. Many parts of the film were shot in Islington Arts and Media School. The soundtrack was composed by Philip Glass.

It was nominated for four Academy Awards – Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score.

Plot

Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) teaches history at a comprehensive school in London. A lonely old spinster, Barbara's only "intimate relationship" is with herself by means of a diary. When a new, younger teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) starts at the school, Barbara feels drawn to her and believes that she "may be the one." Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a student, Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson), and confronts her. When Sheba asks her to not tell the school administration until Christmas so that she can be with her family, Barbara explains she has no intention of telling, as long as she ends the relationship. However, Sheba does not end the affair with Steven, causing Barbara to taunt her emotionally and draw her down, leading her to end the affair with Steven. In months passing, Barbara's grasp on Sheba slowly starts to take hold, with Barbara manipulating and emotionally blackmailing her, causing her attentions to be divided between her family and Barbara.

When Barbara's cat dies and Sheba's loyalties are easily divided, Sheba's husband Richard shouts in anger that her friend is being an evident pain and that his wife is being twisted by Barbara. Alone and feeling betrayed, Barbara seeks revenge by revealing Sheba's affair to a fellow teacher who comes to her asking her if Sheba is interested in him. The fellow teacher spreads the "playground rumour" to Steven's mother. Mrs. Connolly then comes to Sheba's home and hits Sheba. Afterwards, Sheba and her husband Richard bitterly argue. In Barbara's voiceover, she reveals she is glad that they are arguing, knowing that Sheba will come to her for comfort, which had been Barbara's plan to start with. The next day, the media, as well as the school administration, are alerted, and Sheba's affair and her life are turned upside down by the collapse of her marriage, the destroyed relationship with her children and the loss of her job. Barbara is fired from the school after denying to the headmaster that she knew of the relationship; he confronts her with a copy of a restraining order taken out against Barbara by another fellow teacher whom she had previously befriended.

Sheba ends up moving into Barbara's house, believing that the affair became known because Steven confessed it to his mother, but Sheba soon finds Barbara's diary and learns that it was Barbara who leaked the story of the affair, on account of the rather sexual attraction Barbara seems to have for her. When Barbara returns from a shopping round, she is confronted by a furious Sheba, who strikes her in anger. Barbara says she has done her a favour by getting her out of a hopeless marriage. The two of them continue to shout and fight with one another, and Sheba claims that Barbara never really liked her, but in fact manipulated her for her own personal needs. Sheba runs outside with Barbara's journal, to streams of reporters and photographers. She shouts at them in a deluded fashion, but becomes hemmed in by a crush of reporters and photographers, at which point Barbara rescues her. Sheba's emotions spent, she quietly tells Barbara that she had initiated the friendship because she had liked her (Barbara) and they could have been friends. Barbara says she needs more than a friend.

Sheba leaves Barbara, placing the journal on the table. Sheba returns to her family home. Richard answers the door. The two face one another silently for several moments, and then Richard allows her to enter.

Sheba is sentenced to 10 months, and the last scene is Barbara meeting another younger woman who is reading a newspaper reporting the Sheba Hart affair. Barbara says she used to know Sheba, but then says she didn't know her well. Barbara quickly introduces herself, and the other woman introduces herself as Annabel. The pair continue to talk. Barbara mentions attending a classical concert and invites Annabel to join her.

Cast

• Judi Dench as Barbara Covett
• Cate Blanchett as Bathsheba "Sheba" / "Bash" Hart
• Bill Nighy as Richard Hart
• Andrew Simpson as Steven Connolly
• Tom Georgeson as Ted Mawson
• Michael Maloney as Sandy Pabblem
• Joanna Scanlan as Sue Hodge
• Shaun Parkes as Bill Rumer
• Emma Williams as Linda
• Phil Davis as Brian Bangs
• Juno Temple as Polly Hart
• Max Lewis as Ben Hart
• Anne-Marie Duff as Annabel

Filming

The film was shot on location in the Parliament Hill, Gospel Oak and Camden Town areas of north-west London

Soundtrack

Main article: Notes on a Scandal (soundtrack)

The original score for the movie was composed by Philip Glass. The film features a song by Toots & The Maytals and another by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Reception

Critical reaction

The film opened to generally positive reviews, receiving a Rotten Tomatoes certified fresh rating of 87 percent.^[1] The Guardian called the film a "delectable adaptation" with "tremendous acting from Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, with many blue-chip supporting contributions and a "screenwriting masterclass from Patrick Marber".^[2] The Times praised the film, saying: "Notes on a Scandal, is screenwriting at its vicious best... Richard Eyre directs the film like a chamber play. He leans on Philip Glass’s ever-present and insistent music like a crutch. But his natural gift for framing scenes is terrifically assured. A potent and evil pleasure."^[3]

American publications also gave the film acclaim, with the Los Angeles Times describing the film as "Sexy, aspirational and post-politically correct, Notes on a Scandal could turn out to be the Fatal Attraction of the noughties."^[4] The Washington Post noted the "dark brilliance" and that it "offers what is possibly the only intelligent account of such a disaster ever constructed, with a point of view that is somewhat gimlet-eyed and offered with absolutely no sentimentality whatsoever." The reviewer also identified the film as a "study in the anthropology of British liberal-left middle-class life."^[5] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert heaped praise on the film and the acting performances "Perhaps the most impressive acting duo in any film of 2006. Dench and Blanchett are magnificent. ‘Notes on a Scandal’ is whip-smart, sharp and grown up."^[6]

Commercial

The film was also a commercial success. It grossed $49,752,391 worldwide,^[7] exceeding its £15 million budget.^[8]

Awards and nominations

79th Academy Awards nominees:

• Nominated: Best Actress – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett
• Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Patrick Marber
• Nominated: Best Original Score – Philip Glass

BAFTA Awards

• Nominated: Best British Film
• Nominated: Best Actress – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Patrick Marber

British Independent Film Awards

• Nominated: Best British Independent Film
• Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Performance by a Supporting Actor or Actress in a British Independent Film – Cate Blanchett
• Won: Best Screenplay – Patrick Marber

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

• Nominated: Best Actress – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Picture
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

• Nominated: Best Actress – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett
• Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Patrick Marber
• Nominated: Best Original Score

Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards

• Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Evening Standard British Film Awards

• Won: Best Actress – Judi Dench

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

• Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Golden Globe Awards

• Nominated: Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett
• Nominated: Best Screenplay – Patrick Marber

London Film Critics Circle Awards

• Nominated: Actress of the Year – Judi Dench
• Nominated: British Actress of the Year – Judi Dench
• Nominated: British Supporting Actor of the Year – Bill Nighy

Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards

• Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Online Film Critics Awards

• Nominated: Best Actress – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett
• Nominated: Best Original Score – Phillip Glass

Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards

• Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• Nominated: Best Actress – Judi Dench
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards

• Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

References

1. ^ "Notes on a Scandal (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/notes_on_a_scandal/. Retrieved 28 February 2009. 
2. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2 February 2007). "Notes on a Scandal". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/feb/02/drama.periodandhistorical. Retrieved 22 August 2009. 
3. ^ Christopher, James (1 February 2007). "Notes on a Scandal". The Times (UK). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article1311586.ece. Retrieved 22 August 2009. 
4. ^ "Notes on a Scandal (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/notes_on_a_scandal/?critic=creamcrop. Retrieved 22 August 2009. 
5. ^ Hunter, Stephen (27 December 2006). "'Scandal': A Lesson Not Soon Forgotten". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122601009.html. Retrieved 22 August 2009. 
6. ^ "Critics: Who Doesn't Love a Good Scandal?". Fox Searchlight. http://content.foxsearchlight.com/blogonascandal/node/589. Retrieved 22 August 2009. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2007)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=notesonascandal.htm. Retrieved 7 June 2009. 
8. ^ Gritten, David (26 January 2007). "How to make a scandalously good movie". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3662746/How-to-make-a-scandalously-good-movie.html. Retrieved 22 August 2009. 

External links

• Notes on a Scandal at the Internet Movie Database
• Notes on a Scandal at Rotten Tomatoes
• Notes on a Scandal at AllRovi