notes on a scandal= awk-ward! March 7, 2007
I can’t imagine that any young, female middle or high school teacher could watch this movie and not squirm. Icky!
That said, everyone was incredibly well cast:
*The “love interest”: good looking, but clearly just barely past puberty…and those freckles! It’s not like “Desperate Housewives” where you can pretty much understand why Gabrielle is having an affair with John; it’s more like watching a very mature Dennis the Menace have an affair with his best friend’s mom. You’ll suspend your disbelief for the sake of the movie, but in those moments of suspension-lapse, you’re just a bit disturbed by what you’re watching.
*The teacher: Cate Blanchett is just ethereal enough to pull off the lightweight and yet compelling character. You don’t see why everyone is so enamored with her, but you find yourself being drawn in, too.
* Judi Dench is a bitter old hag! And she gives hope to every aspiring actress who thinks you have to be thin and pretty to make it. You don’t; but if you’re not, you better be, let’s say, one of the ten greatest living actresses in the world.
Leave a Reply