Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

Secondary school teacher Barbara Covett rules her classroom with an iron fist. But her intractable personality means she is alone and friendless. Then new art teacher Sheba Hart arrives; a young, vivacious woman who could be the loyal friend and kindred spirit Barbara has been searching for. When she discovers Sheba is having an affair with a fifteen year-old student, she threatens to expose her secret to her husband and the world. That's when the ...
...to which she will sink to gain control of her new found friend. National Theatre mainstay Richard Eyre must be thanking his lucky stars that he managed to assemble such a top flight cast for his production, because without them there would be little to hold this slight confection together. His unobtrusive style of direction pushes them to the fore, making everything else feel like minimalist set dressing. In many ways it's like watching the film ...

afy9mab 02.10.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

When married Sheba Hart first starts teaching at the school where Barbara Covett has worked for years, Barbara shows little interest in her. However, Barbara is a lonely woman with few friends and no partner, just a diary with which to share her feelings, and she thinks that she recognises a kindred spirit in Sheba. As she gets to know Sheba, she becomes more and more enamoured with her. Then she finds that Sheba is having an affair with an underage ...
...authorities, she decides to use the knowledge for her own purposes. Will Sheba be able to keep her secret from her husband and children? And exactly what kind of interest is Barbara showing in Sheba? Dame Judi Dench plays the lonely Barbara Covett. Barbara is a woman with many layers. In some ways, it is easy to feel sorry for her. She is close to retirement and fears spending the rest of her life on her own; the only problem is that the precautions ...

sunmeilan 26.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

...2003 novel by Zoë Heller, Notes On A Scandal was released this February to much critical acclaim and several Oscar nominations; for its stars, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, and also for its music score and screenplay, but we’ll come on to that later. It tells the story of Barbara Covett (played by Dench); a lonely, elderly History teacher at a fairly average London secondary school. On to this pretty boring scenario bursts Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) ...
...quite as it seems… Notes on a Scandal is an excellent example of an unpleasant narrator – Barbara Covett is an icy, detached, sometimes disturbing, and totally engrossing character. To her pupils she is the ultimate bitch of a teacher, but even with her supposed friend, Sheba, there is something quietly terrifying about her. In this role, Judi Dench is mesmerising, both on screen and in her deliciously dark voiceover. It’s through this device that ...

l-m-n-o-p 07.05.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

...can't remember how I acquired Notes on a Scandal but it had been sitting on my 'to watch' shelf of DVDs for a while mainly because I didn't really know anything about it. Anyway, last night as my husband was out, I thought I would sit and watch it and I am so glad that I did as it really is an excellent film - and it's British! The film stars Judi Dench as Barbara Covett a crusty old spinster school teacher who is actually very lonely. She has a ...
...of the film meets Sheba Hart, a young art teacher, played by Cate Blanchett. She is young and attractive but feels a little bit trapped in her marriage to an older man (Bill Nighy) and dealing with their teenage daughter and downs syndrome son. Life is not easy for Sheba and she soon starts confiding in Barbara. This is exactly what Barbara yearns for but she is not at all pleased when she discovers that Sheba also has a somewhat unhealthy and dangerous ...

kingfisher111 26.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

...to be very good and Notes on a Scandal is no exception. In this film which is based on a book by Zoe Heller, Judi Dench plays Barbara Covett a middle aged school teacher who has a quite pessimistic outlook on life and this doesn't change initially when new teacher Sheba Hart joins the school. Sheba Hart is a young fresh new teacher who, after the pressures of taking care of a young family and dealing with the increasing loneliness she begins to see ...
...Richard Eyre Featurettes Notes on a Scandal: The story of two obsessions Notes on scandal: Behind the scenes In Character with Cate Blanchett Webisodes Judi & Cate Behind the scandal The Screenplay Judi Dench Cate Blanchett A conversation with Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy Casting Characters On Set Love scenes Theatrical Trailer WWW.Fox.co.uk Available on Amazon £7.98 Available on Play.com £5.99 ...

Merced 30.09.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

Notes on a Scandal is the story of Barbara Covett, a lonely and elderly teacher at an underperforming school. It begins with the introduction of a new teacher, young and pretty Sheba Hart. The two become friends, until Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a 15 year old student, at which point her view of the friendship intensifies significantly. Barbara becomes extremely posessive and falls in love with Sheba, who tries hard to please ...
...she is feeling quite disturbed by Barbara's actions. When angry with Sheba, Barbara clues another teacher in about Sheba's past with the student, who informs the public. Sheba has no choice but to leave her husband and her family and temporarily move in with Barbara, where she discovers her diary and finds out her true feelings about her - and that there appears to be a recurring pattern, as her actions and views had been done once before with another ...

hi_nicola 17.12.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

...Barbara has been writing these notes in her diary, and when Sheba moves in with her, thinking its her only option, its not long before she descovers the diary, and all the horrors that lie in it... CAST: The characters performances are all flawless, providing a very realistic account of the tale. Judi Dench plays Barbara Covett Cate Blanchett plays Sheba Hart Andrew Simpson plays Steven Connolly MY OPINION: I think that the film did the book great ...

hkwilson 18.07.2008 (21.07.2008) · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

I first watched 'Notes on a Scandal' at the local cinema and was blown away by the storyline, the power and honesty of the performances and the insidious nature of Judi Dench's character in this gripping Brit Flick. The movie loses nothing in its tranfer to DVD, as it's not one of those 'must-see-in-the-cinema' films. The film explores the tangled web of deceit, manipulation and betrayal, largely controlled by Barbara (Dench), and the fall out from ...
...envy gets the better of her, some secrets from her past are revealed as the situation spirals out of control. If you like a solid storyline and great acting you'll love this! The film is a gripping portrayal of a one-sided lesbian love affair and an essentially paedophillic relationship, and the devastating consequences of jealousy and infidelity. The soundtrack, masterfully provided by Philip Glass (who also wrote the music for the Truman Show), ...

jgyphion 27.06.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

If you're looking for a swash-buckling adventure, this certainly isn't the film for you. Set in the middle-class streets of North London, this film is far more concerned with a realistic portrayal of human emotion than anything else. The story, adapted from the Zoe Heller novel, observes the lives of two teachers; one is a youthful, exhuberant mother-of-two (Blanchett) and one is a strict, single woman (Dench) Their lives become intertwined when ...
...to a secret shared, a secret about Sheba's inappropropriate behaviour with a pupil. There are certainly lesbian undertones in the film, all eminating from Dench's character, who seems to confuse friendship for something else. The real magic of this film is it's stark portrayal of what it is to feel lonely, to lack any concept of how others live and love. Dench plays a masterstroke here, and leaves the audience feeling almost sorry for her, despite ...

KittyHes 19.03.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)

My apologies: I have decided to remove this review. xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx ...

ciunas 21.04.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Notes On A Scandal (DVD)