Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Notes On A Scandal shines an unblinking and often bitterly tainted spotlight into what makes people tick, how they interact with one another and what a slap in the face it can be when you see what they really think and feel, independent of how they may carry themselves in public. Judi Dench is acid personified as an older woman and veteran teacher at a local high school, who's ranks have recently been joined by a younger art instructor (Cate Blanchett). Dench is jaded, her only friend being her cat Portia, and has an insidious habit of keep a diary in which she writes down prickly little barbs about everyone and everything around her, often cruel and judgmental in nature. She takes a shine to Blanchett, who is married to a much older and renowned man (the excellent Bill Nighy) and has every vibrant thing in life that Dench is bereft of, left with the vacuum of her own empty existence. She envies, aspires to and resents Blanchett's existence, and pours a malicious cocktail of verbal attacks into her journal, safe in the knowledge that it's just as personal and private as her own thoughts, and that she'll never be found out. Or will she? I've lived long enough to know that secrets you try to hide have a way of working their way to the surface, becoming known and hurting those you love or try to connect to. Speaking of secrets, things get incredibly complicated when Blanchett gets caught up in a torrid affair with a teenage boy she teaches, lured in by lust's song and deaf to consequence, which is something that befalls us all more than we'd care to admit. Dench thinks she can use her knowledge of the affair as leverage to get what she wants, which she may not even be sure of at all, beyond it obsessively involving Blanchett. The two of them are dynamite as two sides of the many faced coin of ambiguity. The human behavior in this film somewhat defies the usual story structure and parameters of character we are used to in film. Decisions are arbitrary, ugliness is exposed, people are contradictory and confused in a way that leaves them stranded without beats to fall back on with their work. High praise is deserved to a piece this honest and willing to explore these places.

SnoopyStyle The bitter Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) is a loner old teacher resentful of everyone and everything. She writes bitingly in her journal. She is fascinated with the new art teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett). After she helps Sheba stop a fight, they become friends and Sheba invites her to a family lunch. She is surprised to find Sheba's husband Richard (Bill Nighy) is as old as she is. Sheba has been home taking care of her son Ben with Down's Syndrome for the last 10 years, and also has a teen Polly (Juno Temple). Sheba starts confiding in Barbara. Then she accidentally discovers that Sheba is having an affair with her student Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson). At first, she helps to keep Sheba's confidence. She pushes Sheba to end her affair. Her beloved cat gets deadly sick. When Sheba decides to go to his son Ben's play instead of going to the vet with her for her cat's death, she decides to let out her bitterness.There are two great thespians at work. Judi Dench is brilliant and Cate Blanchett is just as brilliant playing the weaker character. Diabolical Dench is like a spider catching the unsuspecting Blanchett in her web. Her narration is delicious. It is a sickening ride that isn't for everyone.

craig-hopton Why is a relationship between an a teacher and a young boy an interesting topic to make a movie out of? Simple - it's not. A mid-life crisis infatuation isn't something I would normally want to take two hours out of my life to watch on the telly.And indeed I was close to giving up on Notes on a Scandal. Cate Blanchett puts in a good turn as the confused attractive teacher Sheba Hart but it's just not that interesting a character. Bill Nighy is poor as the husband and Andrew Simpson is disappointingly dull as the young boy.Thank goodness then for Judi Dench. She absolutely steals the show with her portrayal of the jealous, grumpy older teacher Barbara Covett who becomes the confidante of Hart and indeed turns out to be even more infatuated with her than the schoolboy was. It's a nuanced but powerful performance - classic Dench - and transforms a terrible movie into a half- decent one. It becomes a psychological study into attraction and a fairly compelling one at that.All in all a good movie but not a personal favourite of mine.

thisisalbundy When you watch good movies you hardly notice the passage of time. On the other hand bad movies are usually unpleasant experiences that seem to last forever. This movie falls into that bad category like a hand in a glove. Its running time is only 92 minutes but it will feel like you are watching a movie 3+ times longer. The only thing that kept me watching it was looking at my watch every 5 minutes wishing that I would soon see the final credits. At last I finally did but was disappointed about wasting 1.5 hours that could have been used for more entertaining things.Most reviewers of this film praise the excellent acting and screenplay but I don't know why. There are many breakdowns in this movie. I like Judi Dench but she is too old for her character. Her time has come and gone for roles like this. Despite this, Academy Award voters as recent as 2014 continue voting for her performances anyway. This is obviously the result of most of these voters being too old themselves so they don't know the difference.Cate Blanchett's overacting can't save a pitiful plot that movie goers have seen over and over again. In fact nothing can save this movie. I suggest saving yourself from the pain of wasting 90 minutes.