Notes on a Scandal

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Notes on a Scandal

R

2006

1h 38m

Drama

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

175 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), a veteran teacher at St. George's, senses a kindred spirit in Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), the school's new art teacher. The younger woman's charisma intensely draws in the older, and the two become friends. Then Barbara learns of Sheba's affair with a teenage student and becomes the keeper of the explosive secret.

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Critics Consensus

In this sharp psychological thriller, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give fierce, memorable performances as two schoolteachers locked in a battle of wits.

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

Smart and brash, it's a picture Bette Davis and Joan Crawford would have killed (preferably each other) to be in.

Rated: A-

May 15, 2009

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

That's the wonder of the film: it's about the vicious power of loneliness, played out through a story of two women in love. The tragedy, for both of them, is that it's not with each other.

Feb 9, 2007

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Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Blanchett has also recently appeared in The Good German and Babel, but this represents far and away her best work.

Rated: A

Feb 9, 2007

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

A gripping twin character study... Darkly camp and spanning just 92 perfectly paced minutes, this is an intense immersion into two very ugly psyches.

Sep 2, 2023

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Murtada Elfadl

Sundays with Cate

Despite the trope of the predatory lesbian being the engine behind its plot, Notes on a Scandal is delicious fun. A most enjoyable entry into the hagsploitation genre with serious art house credentials.

Rated: A

Mar 30, 2021

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PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

Dench is compelling, and offers a transcendent portrait of a sociopath, whose bitter, fantasy-inflected interaction with the outside world is informed by a colossal solipsism.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 29, 2019

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Raquel E

Unsettling from start to finish. Judi Dench is haunting, and the dynamic between the characters is raw and obsessive. It pulls you in with intensity but leaves you feeling uneasy and emotionally drained. Powerful, but not something I’d want to revisit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

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Ava S

Blanchett and Dench go head-to-head in Notes on a Scandal, an intense thriller showcasing their acting prowess, though it only scratches the surface of the women's underlying motivations.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

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Stephen C

Pride is everywhere in 1 hour and 38 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Some Aberrant Sexual Content and Language!!!!!!!!! Starring Judi Dench as a lesbian, and that's all right with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $17,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/28/25

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A.L.Jude P

A plot akin to the magnitude of a twister was finally subdued into nothingness.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

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thiago s

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/30/25

Full Review

The H

Characters are really in depth with a lot of layers, nobody is cookie cutter or black & white, kind of hard to root for anyone because everyone is wrong in their own way, but man sometimes you really feel bad for both of the main characters even though they're both kind of in the wrong. A movie that shows you good people can do bad things or be tricked into making mistakes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/18/25

Full Review

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Richard Eyre

Director

Cate Blanchett

Sheba Hart

Judi Dench

Barbara Covett

Bill Nighy

Richard Hart

Tameka Empson

Antonia Robinson

Max Lewis

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Synopsis

Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), a veteran teacher at St. George's, senses a kindred spirit in Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), the school's new art teacher. The younger woman's charisma intensely draws in the older, and the two become friends. Then Barbara learns of Sheba's affair with a teenage student and becomes the keeper of the explosive secret.

Director: Richard Eyre
Producer: Scott Rudin, Robert Fox, Allon Reich, Andrew Macdonald
Screenwriter: Patrick Marber
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: DNA Films
Rating: R (Some Aberrant Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 27, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.5M
Runtime: 1h 38m

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