May 25, 2012

Notes on a Scandal

by Mallory Potosky | Published September 4, 2007

Based on Zoe Heller’s 2004 novel of the same name, Notes on a Scandal finished shooting this day in 2005. Adapted for the screen by Patrick Marber (he of Closer fame) and brought to life by Richard Eyre (Stage Beauty), Scandal tells the story of young, free-spirited art teacher Sheba Hart (played by Aussie Cate Blanchett), who, after relocating to a new school, befriends the wrong people. Her faculty confidant is a severely depressed older woman (Dame Judi Dench) who will attach herself to any female that provides the attention she so heartily desires. Hart’s favorite student becomes a little too intimately acquainted with his older teacher and the affair that develops loosens bonds with the family she holds most dear and threatens the careers of both the young and older teacher. The movie was nominated in four categories at the 2007 Academy Awards, including acting achievements for its two leading women and acknowledgement for Marber’s screenplay.

Connections: Notes on a Scandal turned out to be a reunion of sorts for Judi Dench. Previously both Dench and Blanchett had worked on 2001’s The Shipping News while that same year the Dame brought to life novelist Iris Murdoch in director Richard Eyre’s Iris (for which she was also nominated for an Oscar).