Notes on a Scandal

Back to brooding intellectual, I'm afraid. This is a heavy film that makes you squirm with it's intensity or the sheer moral ambiguity of the folks involved. With a cast that includes Dame Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy you are completely correct in your assumption that the acting is, well, about as perfect as acting gets. You don't see these performers, only perfectly rendered and horribly flawed characters.

This is a tale of obsession at it's ugliest so there's no one to root for. Not beautiful Sheba (Blanchett) nobly bearing her crosses until she succumbs to the temptation of a striking 15 year old boy. Nor lonely, jaded Barbara (Dench) who befriends her with less than honorable intentions. The tag line "we are bound by the secrets we share," sums up where all this is going- and you know it's hell in a handbasket time.

This is an artful film that is bound to offend or upset damn near everybody - still both Dench and Blanchett were nominated (Best Actress and Best Supporting) for a reason. It also received Oscar nods for best original score and best adapted screenplay. Bill Nighy is perfection as the older cuckolded husband, no one ever gives this guy any credit. So watch this when you don't mind being really creeped out by powerful, very human emotions with a twist.

See more here.