''Notes on a Scandal'' is a 2006 British

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...

and produced by Robert Fox and Scott Rudin. Adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by

Zoë Heller Zoë Kate Hinde Heller (born 7 July 1965) is an English journalist and novelist long resident in New York City. She has published three novels, ''Everything You Know'' (1999), '' Notes on a Scandal'' (2003), and '' The Believers'' (2008). ''Notes ...

, the screenplay was written by

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benj ...

. The film stars

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

and centres on a lonely veteran teacher who uncovers a fellow teacher's illicit affair with an underage student. It was nominated for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

–

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

, Best Supporting Actress,

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, and Best Original Score.

Plot

Barbara Covett is a history teacher at a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is re ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Having never married and nearing retirement, she has contempt for her students and fellow teachers. Her only comfort is her diary. When a new art teacher, Sheba Hart, joins the staff, Barbara is immediately attracted to her and they strike up a friendship. In Barbara, this friendship quickly turns into infatuation and obsession. Sheba is married to the much older Richard, and is just re-entering the work force after devoting herself to her

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

son. Barbara later witnesses Sheba in a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old student named Steven Connolly at the school. When Barbara confronts her, she recounts all the details of her involvement with the boy, but Sheba asks her not to tell the school administration until after Christmas, as she wants to be with her family. Barbara claims she has no intention of reporting her, providing Sheba ends the illicit relationship immediately, but Barbara secretly plans to use the affair as a means of manipulating Sheba. Over the Christmas break, Barbara visits her sister, who asks her about another young teacher Barbara befriended. Barbara stiffly says that the young teacher moved away. Barbara's sister asks if she has any other female "friends", strongly implying Barbara is a lesbian; Barbara insists she has no idea what her sister is talking about. Sheba tells Steven that the affair is over yet finds herself unable to stop seeing him. However, when she refuses to give in to Barbara's increasing demands on her time and attention, Barbara reveals the secret to a male teacher who has told her that he is attracted to Sheba. The teacher informs the student's parents and the school. After the affair becomes public, the headteacher accuses Barbara of knowing about the affair and not notifying the authorities. He also learns that a former teacher at the school, the young lady Barbara mentioned at Christmas, had taken out a restraining order against Barbara for stalking her and her fiancé. Both Sheba and Barbara are fired. Sheba's husband asks her to move out of their home, so she moves into Barbara's house, unaware that Barbara is the reason she was found out and believing the affair became known because Steven confessed it to his mother. When Sheba discovers Barbara's diary and learns it was Barbara who leaked the story of the affair, she confronts Barbara and strikes her in anger. A row ensues, and Sheba runs outside to a crowd of reporters and photographers. When she becomes hemmed in by them, Barbara rescues her. Sheba's emotions spent, she quietly tells Barbara that she had initiated the friendship with her because she liked her and that they could have been friends. Barbara says, "I need more than a friend". Sheba leaves Barbara, placing the journal on the table as a mute reminder that she had kept its contents secret, and returns to her husband. Sheba is subsequently sentenced to 10 months in prison, however, it is strongly implied she reconciled with her family. Later, Barbara meets another younger woman who is reading a newspaper about the Sheba Hart affair. Barbara says she was acquainted with Sheba but says they hardly knew each other. Barbara introduces herself, invites the other woman to a concert, and the pair continue to talk.

Cast

as Barbara Covett *

as Sheba Hart *

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

as Richard Hart * Andrew Simpson as Steven Connolly *

Tom Georgeson Tom Georgeson (born 8 August 1937) is an English actor, known for his television and film work. His most notable credits have been supporting parts in '' Between the Lines'' (1992–94) and in three dramas by Alan Bleasdale: ''Boys from the Bl ...

as Ted Mawson *

Michael Maloney Michael Maloney (born 19 June 1957) is an English actor. Life and career Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series ''Telford's Change''. He made hi ...

as Sandy Pabblem *

Joanna Scanlan Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), '' Getting On'' (2009–2012), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), and ''No Offence'' ( ...

as Sue Hodge *

Shaun Parkes Shaun Parkes (born 9 February 1973) is an English actor. Biography At 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into RADA. Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his ...

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 Anne-Marie Duff (born 8 October 1970) is an Irish actress and narrator. She is an accomplished theatre actress and has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. She has also received acclaim and awards for her television and film work. After ...

as Annabel * Julia McKenzie as Marjorie

Filming

Filming took place in August and September 2005. The film was mainly shot on location in the

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

Gospel Oak Gospel Oak is an inner urban area of north west London in the London Borough of Camden at the very south of Hampstead Heath. The neighbourhood is positioned between Hampstead to the north-west, Dartmouth Park to the north-east, Kentish Town to t ...

and

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as ...

areas of northwest London. The

Arts and Media School, Islington Arts and Media School Islington, is a secondary school located in the Finsbury Park area of the London Borough of Islington. It is classified as a comprehensive trust foundation school and has been a specialist media arts college since 2003. ...

was used a film location for many of the school scenes.

Reception

Critical reaction

The film opened to generally positive reviews, with Blanchett and Dench receiving critical acclaim for their performances. On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus states, "In this sharp psychological thriller, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give fierce, memorable performances as two schoolteachers locked in a battle of wits."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

assigned the film a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' 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". ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' praised the film, saying: "''Notes on a Scandal'', is screenwriting at its vicious best... Richard Eyre directs the film like a

chamber play A chamber play is a play of usually three acts which can be performed with a small cast and practically no sets or costumes in a small space. The form became popular in the early 20th century, with leading exponents being Max Reinhardt and August S ...

. 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." American publications also gave the film acclaim, with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' describing the film as "Sexy, aspirational and post-politically correct, ''Notes on a Scandal'' could turn out to be the ''

Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, the film cent ...

'' of the noughties." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' 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." ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' film critic

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...

heaped praise on the film: "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." However, the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' criticized the film as a melodrama, saying, " amatic overstatement saturates just about every piece of this production".

Commercial

The film grossed $49,752,391 worldwide, against a budget of $15 million.

Soundtrack

The original score for the movie was composed by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

. The film also features music by

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

and

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine ...

; the songs were "Funky Kingston" by Toots and the Maytals and "Dizzy" by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Awards and nominations

79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

: *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 The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

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

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

*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 The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writ ...

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

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

*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 The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony ...

*Won: Best Actress – Judi Dench

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards The Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) is a film critic organization founded in 1996. The FFCC comprises 30 film critics from Florida-based print and online publications. At the end of each year, the FFCC members vote on the Florida Film Critics ...

*Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

*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 The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally. The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards did not convey the full context of the ...

*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 – Philip Glass Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards *Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

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

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toro ...

*Won: Best Supporting Actress – Cate Blanchett

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Notes On A Scandal 2006 films 2006 LGBT-related films 2006 psychological thriller films 2006 thriller drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s psychological drama films Adultery in films British LGBT-related films British psychological drama films British psychological thriller films British thriller drama films Films about scandalous teacher–student relationships Films about sexual repression Films based on British novels Films directed by Richard Eyre Films produced by Scott Rudin Films scored by Philip Glass Films set in London Films shot at Elstree Film Studios Fox Searchlight Pictures films Juvenile sexuality in films Lesbian-related films LGBT-related thriller drama films 2000s British films