Review of Notes on a Scandal (2006) by Steve H — 04 Dec 2008
Really? This is what everyone was making a huge fuss about. If you tell me that all of the fuss was about Dench then I completely agree, but it must stop there.
The script was very simple and coupled with the directing and editing, I honestly kept feeling like I was watching a terribly pieced together movie that made me feel like I was missing important parts of the story. i.e. Sheba's husband and daughter detest Barbara, but there was never a scene that would suggest she was an imposition or nuisance or even overly involved in their lives and yet they seemed to so quickly resent her and act irrationally around her. She was Sheba's friend- I have many friends who are more imposing than she was on Sheba's family and I almost consider them family.
The scandal itself was all very elementary as well. Disturbing and dodgy, but the substance of the movie was the subplot between Sheba and Barbara, and it was always relegated to a peripheral, though haunting plot line until the end. This was kind of Ripley meets Misery without the guts to really go where it needed to go to do what it needed to do. All of the stars here are for Dench's performance.
This review of Notes on a Scandal (2006) was written by Steve H on 04 Dec 2008.
Notes on a Scandal has generally received very positive reviews.
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