Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Notes on a Scandal

I haven't had a chance until today to talk about Notes on a Scandal which I saw this past weekend after Children of Men. As you would imagine, it contains superb performances by both Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett--two actresses I'd almost say can do no wrong.

I went in thinking it was going to be a prep school love story between a teacher and student, kind of having a sad nostalgia about it. But I couldn't have been more wrong. The movie is a tense drama, almost a thriller, where the tension builds and builds and builds until something finally has to collapse.

The powers that be are selling the movie in an odd way, with barely a glimpse of the movie and just suggesting you should see it for Dench and Blanchett alone. But my guess is that if they better diplayed the movie's tension and drama, they might get more than just an arthouse crowd. And I have to say that though Judi Dench has never looked uglier in a role (purposefully, I'm sure), where she goes dramatically was surprising as hell.

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