NOTES ON A SCANDAL

NOTES ON A SCANDAL THIS IS NOW ON DVD -- A YOUNG TEACHER, CATE BLANCHETTE, WITH SEVERE EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS, PUTS HER TRUST IN AN OLDER FEMALE TEACHER, JUDI DENCH, WHO IS PLOTING AGAINST HER, MOTIVATED BY JEALOUSY AND FEAR OF BEING ALONE IN HER DECLINING YEARS. A GOOD PICTURE, BUT I COULD NOT GET PASS HOW SICK IN THE HEAD CATE BLANCHETTE WAS - IF THE KID WAS 17 0R 18 -- I COULD SEE IT, BUT AT 15, SHE LOOKED LIKE A TOTAL NUT AND HE WAS MUCH TOO DOMINANT FOR A 15 YEAR OLD - THEY GAVE HIM THE PERSONA OF A 25 YEAR OLD. I FOUND THE ANGUISH OF THE HUSBAND TO BE THE POINT THAT INTERESTED ME THE MOST -- CATE WAS NUTS, JUDI WAS A SOCIOPATH -- BUT THE HUSBAND WAS NOT AS EASY TO CATEGORIZE OR LABEL. HE HAD AN INTERESTING MIXTURE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE TRAITS. HE WAS THE VICTIM IN THIS EXCELLENT CHICK FLICK -- CHICK FLICK IS NOT A NEGATIVE TERM, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE AS WELL CRAFTED AS THIS ONE -- ALL TOO OFTEN THEY JUST DEPEND ON SAPPY SENTIMENT, WITHOUT ANY LOGICAL SUPPORT, THIS FILM IS HARDCORE ALL THE WAY. YOU CAN TELL IT WAS A GOOD PICTURE - YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT, LONG AFTER IT HAS ENDED.*******************To me, this film was perfect from frame one to the last one. Of course the subject was unsettling, but it does happen. The script was letter perfect and the acting by those women was brilliant. I just saw Little Children with Kate Winslet whose a great actress and there were scenes of nudity between her and her adult co-star and they had no chemistry. But Cate Blanchette made us believe that she wanted this boy physically and their scenes together were genuine despite the discomfort from watching them and that's down to her acting. I saw this program called Film 101 which has interviews with famous actors and directors and they said in order for the audience to believe a love scene, you have to believe the woman's facial expressions and Cate brought it and sold it! RANE PARISH