"Notes On A Scandal"

     Notes on a Scandal is a drama which tells a story filled with deceit, infatuation, jealousy, and lies.  This film took me a little by surprise, mostly because I knew nothing about it and the twisted story I was about to see unfold.

     Judi Dench plays Barbara Covett, a lonely history teacher who lives with her cat and initially seems to long only a little companionship.  Sheba Hart, played by Cate Blanchett, is a new art teacher at the school.  Once introduced, Barbara seems to innocently admire Sheba and the two even develop a friendly relationship.  As the story continues we learn that Barbara has been keeping a diary of all of her estranged thoughts and feelings about Sheba.  After we see Barbara save a strand of Sheba's hair to put in her diary, it then becomes apparent that Barbara is developing an obsession with Sheba.  The story then takes a sharp turn when Barbara accidentally discovers a dark secret of Sheba's.  She finds out that she has been having an affair with one of her fifteen year old students.  The knowledge of this secret gives Barbara complete control over Sheba.  As she says, "now more than ever we are bound by the secrets we share".  She abuses this power she has over Sheba to continue to have a tight grasp on her friendship.  The story begins to climax after Barbara purposely lets Sheba's secret slip to another staff member at the school.  Sheba's downward spiral then begins from her shame and embarrassment.  In the midst of turning to Barbara as a friend for comfort Sheba discovers the diary.  In it she finds all of Barbara's psychotic feelings and appalling thoughts towards Sheba and her family.  The movie ends with Barbara meeting another woman in the park whom we can assume is going to be her next victim.

     One theme I would say, that pertains mostly to Barbara's character is, "misery loves company." Barbara was an overly jealous, sad, lonely woman whose intentions were to sabotage a woman who she viewed as being perfect and happy.  Although Sheba was not so innocent herself, due to her infidelity, it was still unfortunate for her that she found herself tangled in the web that Barbara Covett wove.

     I believe that one of the contributing factors to the enjoyment of a film involves a convincing performance from the actors.  The acting in this movie was superb, which made it very easy to feel truly involved in the story.  It was precisely because of the quality of the acting and the power of the story itself that made this film worth watching.  I genuinely appreciated this film, however, it's negative themes and depressing nature was the only reason I did not enjoy it.