Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Notes on a Scandal.  (2006)  Directed by Richard Eyre

"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 Covett.

Barbara Covett (Dame Judi Dench) is a veteran teacher, widely respected, equally loathed.  She is purse lipped and has one of those looks that can quell an entire classroom with a raised eyebrow.  She is a veteran of the wars, jaded, cynical, but effective.

New to her school is the art teacher, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) is young, and lovely, and in a bit over her head.  Barbara records her life and observations in her diaries, which we are privy to as a voice over.  She, and everyone, is rather taken with the fey Miss Sheba.  With a timely intervention into a fight, Barbara saves Sheba from her own inexperience, and they begin to strike up a friendship.

Barbara is rather shocked to discover the make up of Sheba's family; her husband Richard (Bill Nighy) describes himself as twenty years too old and twice as ugly as she deserves.  Her daughter Polly (Juno Temple) is the young vapid princess, and her son Ben (Max Lewis) has Down's syndrome.

However, that is no shock compared to what she discovers later; Sheba is having an affair with one of her students, Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson), a boy of fifteen.

But as she confronts Sheba with her knowledge, she realizes that she has an almost unbeatable advantage in the making...if she says nothing, then she and Sheba are coconspirators, bound together by the secret she keeps.  On such a secret many things can be built...

It becomes increasingly obvious that Barbara's interest in Sheba goes beyond the platonic, and that her determination to get what she wants is dangerously ill defined.

Further, Sheba is weak to Steven's temptations, and while her complicate relationship with the older woman deepens, her illicit relationship with the boy continues.

Until Barbara finds out.

Now she feels bold enough to push for greater intimacy, but is rebuffed.  The game continues, until the inevitable moment of crisis....

This is a deeply disturbing movie about a deeply disturbing set of relationships.  While the sexual relationship between a teacher and child is creepy, watching this elderly woman plan and meticulously orchestrate a crisis for the sole purpose of making the object of her affections dependant on her is horrifying.

The subtlety of the horror is sublime.  There is no violence, only malice.  There is no malevolence, only raw aching need.  Loneliness can be as devastating as cancer, and eats at you the same way.  In Barbara's case, it ate away at her sense of proportion and probability.  Her capacity for self delusion was phenomenal, and we got to see it all, almost entirely through the words of her diary.

This movie takes place strictly in the realm of social interaction, and it is there that it shines.  The plot is wonderful, the story powerful and gripping, but all of it is absolutely dependant on the ability of the actors to make it believable.  And they rose to the occasion.   They rose, and they shone.

Bill Nighy as the older husband, cuckolded by a child, is brilliant.  His tirade at finding out he had been betrayed was perfect, impassioned, but lacking the insanity and rage of youth, and containing the measured certainty and long view that only comes from maturity.

Andrew Simpson as Steven Connolly, the forbidden fruit.  Pallid and sweet, he will be quite a knockout when he grows up.  And he does play the part of the little heartbreaker, sweet and cocky at the same time.

Cate Blanchett as Sheba Hart.  Sheba is the victim in all of this, desired by predators more cunning than she.  It was her initial willingness to confess to Barbara that pushed her over the edge of being interesting to Barbara, and into the realm of being Necessary.  Her weakness, not only in succumbing to her student's blandishments, but then in not breaking it off with him once she was caught brought all this grief down upon her family.

Dame Judi Dench as Barbara Covett.  Covett, what a perfect name for this woman; because that is what she does.  She covets the attention and affection of Sheba from anyone who has it, her husband, and her lover, even from her children.  Intelligent and insightful, she uses her understanding of human nature not for the care and nurturance of her students, but solely for her own selfish needs.  The subtlety and delicacy of her emotions, so very repressed, so very British, but shining none the less, is a masterpiece.  Both she and Cate were nominated for Oscars.

This is a movie about the human heart, and what it will do to get what it needs.  It is subtle and understated, and absolutely wonderful.  I highly recommend it.

Gay Movies:

La Mission***Burnt Money***8: The Mormon Propo$ition***In The Flesh***The Sensei***The 24th Day***Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon***ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction***East Side Story***Dorian Blues***Creatures From the Pink Lagoon***Satyricon***Ice Men***Richard O'Briens Rocky Horror Tribute Show***Prom Queen***The Kids are All Right***Between Love and Goodbye***The Mudge Boy***That Man: Peter Berlin***A Single Man***Almost Normal***Outing Riley***Outrage!***Law of Desire***Love is the Devil***Cowboy Junction***Horror in the Wind***Bedrooms and Hallways***Cut Sleeve Boys***Big Eden***For A Lost Soldier***Midnight Cowboy***Redwoods***The Massuer***Boy Culture***Breakfast With Scot***The Fluffer***Flesh***Little Ashes***L.I.E. ***Dorian Gray***9 Dead Gay Guys***Shank***I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry***Beautiful Boxer***Bangkok Love Story***Schoolboy Crush***Shelter***Back Soon***Dog Tags***Theft***The Mulligans***The Velvet Goldmine***Swashbuckler***Smoke Signals
***C'Thulhu***Milk***The Picture of Dorian Gray***Brideshead Revisited***Notes on a Scandal***RocknRolla***Mamma Mia!
***Priscillia: Queen of the Desert***The History Boys***Brokeback Mountain***The Broken Hearts Club*** Yaji and Kita: Midnight Pilgrims ***Surge of Power ***In & Out ***Mambo Italiano ***Touch of Pink ***To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar ***Wolves of Kromer ***Rocky Horror Picture Show ***Taboo ***Deathtrap 


Gay Themed Series:

Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Dante's Cove
Hex
Carnivale Season One
Carnivale Season Two
Rome Season One
Rome Season Two
True Blood
True Blood: Season Two
The Book of Daniel: The Complete Series
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Torchwood: Season One


Gay Animation:

Pirate's Booty***Sensitive Pornograph***Loveless: The Complete Series***Loveless: Hope on the Run***Loveless: Soul of Chains***Loveless: Lost and Found***Embracing Love: A Cicada in Winter***Embracing Love: Cherished Spring ***Stonewall & Riot***Drawn Together Movie: The Movie***Drawn Together: Season 2***Drawn Together: Season 3

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age