Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Director:

Richard Eyre

Writers (WGA):

Patrick Marber (screenplay)
Zoe Heller (novel)

Release Date:

5 enero 2007 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama

Frase comercial:

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:

Lesbian Interest | Friendship | Opportunism | Extramarital Affair | Lurid

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 35 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Front Row at the Opera

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

También conocida como:

Escándalo (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Diario de un escándalo (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some aberrant sexual content.

Duración:

92 min

País:

UK

Idioma:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Clasificación:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

BBC Films

Trivialidades:

The LP that Steven picks up in Sheba's workshop is "Kaleidoscope" by Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980). The band's song that plays over the scene, however, is "Dizzy", which was first released as a new track on a "Best of" compilation in 2002.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Barbara goes to lunch at Sheba and Richard's house, Richard is sitting in the front room with her and holding a glass of wine. As they're talking, Ben comes running into the room and jumps on Richard whose wine glass is now on the table in front of him. There doesn't appear to have been enough time for him to put the glass down.

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 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Dizzy

Front Row at the Opera

Watching the emotionally intense black comedy, "Notes on a Scandal," you, too, may feel like its main character, Barbara, who reflects in one of her many voice-overs, "The opera has begun and I have a front-row seat." Directed by Richard Eyre ("Iris," "Stage Beauty" and the exceptional TV version of "Suddenly, Last Summer" with Maggie Smith and Natasha Richardson), "Notes" bravely wades into modern-day Grand Guignol as the tension between its two female stars heads inevitably toward a showdown.

Patrick ("Closer") Marber's melodramatic screenplay cleverly makes use of Barbara's voice-overs as she scribbles in her diary and makes jaded, bitter observations about the world around her. Abundant voice-overs usually point toward shortcomings in a drama, but here they provide irony and serve to enhance the dialog.

In her juiciest role since "Mrs Brown," Judi Dench brings an element of sympathy to Barbara, a closeted, self-loathing lesbian school teacher attracted to the new art teacher, Sheba, played by Cate Blanchett. Madly hoping to wrest the heterosexual Sheba from her husband and two children, one of whom has Down Syndrome, Barbara stumbles upon Sheba's sexual dalliance with a 15-year-old student. In a Machiavellian turn, Barbara hopes to manipulate Sheba by maintaining her secret . . . with strings attached. Need I add that all does not go well?

In fact, escalating histrionic fireworks ensue. Blanchett holds her own in this emotional and physical battle royal, capping her incredible year (2006) that also included outstanding performances in "Babel" and "The Good German." As Sheba's husband, Richard, Bill Nighy also comes through with a powerhouse performance. The moody score by Philip Glass is icing on the cake.

At a tidy 92 minutes, "Notes on a Scandal" is highly concentrated and vivid. The recently announced Golden Globe nominations include Dench, Blanchett and Marber, so we can expect Oscar nods as well.