More Details

Summary:

Barbara is a cynical schoolteacher who is close to retirement. Her only means of taking the edge off her desperate loneliness is writing in her journal. Sheba is a younger, attractive woman, who joins the faculty as an art teacher. Barbara watches her from afar and has nothing but caustic things to say in her diary. Barbara finds herself reaching out to Sheba. Sheba responds by inviting her to dinner at her house to meet Sheba's lecturer husband and their two children. Later, when Barbara discovers that Sheba is having a sexual relationship with a 15-year old student, Barbara realizes that knowledge of this secret gives her power over Sheba which she can use for her own purposes. Sheba becomes uneasy with Barbara's friendship. The tenuous relationship between the two women reaches a crisis point when Barbara's cat is dying and she asks Sheba to go with her to the vet. Sheba chooses to go with her family to see their son in a play instead. In revenge, Barbara sets in motion the scandal that will rock both their lives in ways they never imagined.

Contributors:

Dench, Judi, 1934- , actor

Blanchett, Cate, 1969- , actor

Nighy, Bill, 1949- , actor

Menges, Chris, 1940-

Bloom, John

Drimmelen, Antonia van

Glass, Philip

Fox, Robert, 1952- , producer

Rudin, Scott, 1958- , producer

Marber, Patrick, 1964- , screenwriter

Eyre, Richard, 1943- , director

Heller, Zoë

Fox Searchlight Pictures

BBC Films

DNA Films

UK Film Council

Languages:

English
French
Spanish

Language Notes:

Closed-captioned; dialogue in English (5.1 Dolby Surround), French (Dolby Surround) or Spanish (Dolby Surround) with optional subtitles in English, French or Spanish.

Related Works:

Motion picture adaptation of: Notes on a scandal [by Heller, Z.]

Subjects:

Women teachers — Drama

Teacher-student relationships — Drama

Women teachers

Teacher-student relationships

Genres:

Motion pictures

Feature films

Thrillers (Motion pictures)

Melodrama

Video recordings for the hearing impaired

Drama

System Details:

DVD; region 1; widescreen presentation.

Performers:

Cast: Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy.

Production Credits:

Director of photography, Chris Menges ; editors, John Bloom, Antonia Van Drimmelen ; music, Philip Glass ; costume designer, Tim Hatley ; productions designer, Tim Hatley.

General Notes:

Berlin International Film Festival, 2007: Teddy Audience Award.
Based on the book by Zoe Heller.
Special features: Commentary by director, featurette, conversation with Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy, in character with Cate Blanchett.

Audience:

MPAA rating: R; for language and some aberrant sexual content.

Physical Description:

1 videodisc (92 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.

Physical Characteristics:

plastic; metal; polychrome

Audio Characteristics:

digital; optical

Digital Characteristics:

video file; DVD video; region 1

Call Numbers:

NOT DVD

Other Standard Numbers:

Universal Product Code: 024543438915 50
Universal Product Code: 024543438953
Publisher Number, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment: 243891

OCLC Numbers:

83599793