Notes on a Scandal
By Mal Simons, Blockbuster.co.uk

“You think this is a love affair? A relationship? What, sticky gold stars, and - and a strand of my hair? A sticker from Pizza Express? It's a flat in the Archway Road and you think you're Virgina frigging Woolf! And where did you get a strand of my hair, did you pluck it from the bath with some special f***ing tweezers?”

Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench put in stellar performances in this psychological thriller about the darker side of loneliness and obsession.

Blanchett and Dench play two teachers in a North London school based in a deprived area. Dench is Barbara, a spinster, blunt and unpopular – someone who does not have a good relationship with either students or staff. Blanchett is Sheba, a young art teacher, fresh out of teacher training, keen to make a difference to her students lives. The two women strike up an odd friendship but one based on deception.

Unhappy in her seemingly perfect marriage, Sheba finds herself in a relationship with a 15 year old student at her school. Aware of how illegal this is, but also pleased by the attention, the young teacher continues until she is discovered by Barbara. Initially disgusted by the situation, Barbara soon realizes that she has been presented with an opportunity – one of which, she is determined to take advantage; an opportunity to become more of a part of Sheba’s life.

“And then I realized my fury had blinded me. There was a magnificent opportunity here. With stealth, I might secure the prize long-term, forever in my debt. I could gain everything by doing nothing.”

Barbara becomes obsessed with her young friend – and it is not the first time that this has happened, a previous teacher at the school left because of Barbara’s unhealthy obsession (sending a wreath to her friend’s fiancé). Writing in her diary each night, Barbara takes perverse pleasure in recounting what she has done to break up Sheba's pefect life...driving her in to depression – even going so far as to gold star the day that she finds out about Sheba’s affair. She is bitter, twisted and intensely lonely. But thanks to her manipulations, this does have the effect of bringing the two women closer.

Troubling, disturbing and incredibly gripping; Notes on a Scandal is a film that you will not be able to take your eyes off. Nominated for numerous awards, both of the female leads put in career defining performances as the troubled pair; an unmissable thriller. Add to your list now.

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