LONELINESS CAN TURN INTO A MONSTER.
When Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) is hired to teach at a London school, Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), a lonely, older colleague, is enchanted and plans to keep her for herself. Is it even possible to fail with a dynamite cast like this and a multi-layered, frightening script by Patrick Marber? The film provides the two stars with ample opportunities to shine; they’re magnificent as the sexy Sheba who despite a seemingly happy marriage falls in love with a 15-year-old boy, and the strict Barbara whose sexual preference and psychopathy lead her to start obsessing about Sheba. A discreet touch of Fatal Attraction (1987) elevates this tragic, intelligent reality-based thriller to grand entertainment.
2006-Britain-U.S. 91 min. Color. Produced by Robert Fox, Scott Rudin. Directed by Richard Eyre. Screenplay: Patrick Marber. Novel: Zoe Heller (“What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal”). Music: Philip Glass. Cast: Judi Dench (Barbara Covett), Cate Blanchett (Sheba Hart), Bill Nighy (Richard Hart), Andrew Simpson, Phil Davis, Michael Maloney… Juno Temple.
Last word: “I thought the novel was very funny. Piracy or not, I think that Patrick [Marber] has robbed the novel of its wit while also injecting his own acerbic wit. But I also think that the wit of the film is very much due to Cate and Judi, both of whom – individually and collectively – have a very acute wit. And both of them have a very powerful way of looking at the world. Of course, it’s subsumed in their characters, but it does affect the way that they create their characters.” (Eyre, indieLondon)
