Take Note

Notes On A Scandal is notable for several reasons. First of all it’s one of the more adept literary adaptations of recent years. Secondly, it takes a highly controversial subject – a teacher / underage student seduction – and bravely treats it as just one of those things involving humans rather than just condemning the teacher. Thirdly, it requires Judi Dench to act.

“What?” you’re probably now saying. “Dench is a great actress.” Yes, she is. But surely even her most ardent supporters must admit that, for some time, the Dame has been resting on her laurels. Recently she’s been more the beneficiary of fortunate casting rather than one of the country;s finest. The pre-production conversation seems to have gone “we need someone to play a cantankerous old biddy who’s really a softie at heart.” “OK, I’ll see if Judi’s free.”

In Notes… though she just proves that the acting muscles have not atrophied and it’s a pleasure – well, a cold, uncomfortable and sinister pleasure – to see.

She’s remarkable as Barbara, the nearing-retirement teacher who takes the younger, prettier new art teacher Sheba (Cate Blanchett) under her wing. Barbara, as we later discover, has trouble maintaining friendly attachments. When she discovers Sheba’s secret – she’s sleeping with a 15-year old student Steven (young Irish actor Andrew Simpson) – Barbara’s not-so-subtle blackmail becomes increasingly obsessive, and her true nature, previously masked by a world-weary, wise façade, becomes more obvious.

The result is a genuinely creepy tale. Dench gets under Barbara’s and the audience’s skin without once falling into standard movie histrionics. While Zoe Heller’s excellent book was more subtle – the diary format only gives Barbara’s side of the tale, and you’re forced to read between the lines to discover the shudder-inducing truth – the film opens things up. This obviously undermines some of the story’s surprise but thankfully Dench – plus Blanchett, Simpson and, particularly, Bill Nighy as Sheba’s husband – convince utterly and it’s this sense of reality that gives the film the foundation for its power.