Move over Dreamgirls! The Catfight of the Year award, no longer in the hands of Supreme-wannabe divas, belongs to an unlikely duelling pair – Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett.
Known primarily for their restrained dramatic roles, The A list actresses let the bitch slaps fly in their most memorable roles to date - in the sinfully delicious Notes on a Scandal.
This well-crafted riveting melodrama tells a familiar story of unrequited same-sex psychopathic love – such classics as Single White Female and The Talented Mr Ripley come to mind. Judi Dench plays narrator Barbara Cox, a lonely spinster working as a miserable London schoolteacher, whose smug wit and malicious observations come alive in her darkly comic diaries.
Beautiful and naïve Snow White-esque Sheba Hart, played by the picture perfect Cate Blanchett, arrives as the new art teacher in school, quickly catching the ravenous eye of the wicked witch. It isn’t long before Barbara surreptitiously gains the trust of her female prey, who readily confesses the daily frustrations living as wife to a significantly older man (Bill Nighy) and mother to a down syndrome son.
As Barbara becomes increasingly possessive of her new best friend, Blanchett’s ingénue takes a bite of the forbidden fruit – embarking on a highly erotic affair with 15- year old student (Andrew Simpson). Upon discovery Barbara avoids reporting her kiddie-fiddling chum, and instead uses the secret to her advantage, drawing Sheba closer to her through a nasty web of deceit and blackmail.
Director Richard’s Eyre’s plot moves along with irresistible alacrity, just as his realistically vulnerable characters unravel to the sadistic glee of Puppetmaster Dench. Philip Glass’s phenomenal score (Glass was also responsible for the score of The Hours) skilfully compliments the direction, further elevating the already dramatic momentum, eerily tinkering in the mind of Barbara as she sits in solitude.
The film’s casting couldn’t have been better with scene-stealing scenes from supporting actors: the flawlessly natural Bill Nighy as Sheba’s well-meaning cuckold husband and the enigmatically sexy Andrew Simpson (yes, he’s 18) as Sheba’s enticing jailbait.
Cate Blanchett’s complex take on Sheba Hart is nothing short of astounding, winning her a well-deserved Oscar nomination for supporting actress. Although it seems unlikely she’ll beat out Dreamgirls’ Jennifer Hudson, Blanchett deserves praise for conveying Sheba Hart’s desperate paranoia, indulging Barbara’s whims and gullible to her threats. While its easy to sympathise with her ill-informed decisions and her downward spiral (although she does have redeeming explosive moments), it’s just as easy to laugh at her ignorance through the eyes of Barbara.
The real star of Notes on a Scandal is not its fatally flawed heroine, but its comically manipulative villain, Dame Judi as Barbara Cox. Bow down, ladies, here’s the real Oscar forerunner. Even while she mercilessly blackmails Sheba, lonely Barbara is the one you sympathise with, in her all her efforts to win over the flagging companion. Her steadfast perseverance and sinister humour, narcissistically getting off on her own diary entries, make her an absolute pleasure to watch.
That said, Dench also brings a peculiar vulnerability to Barbara, whose cynical world can be torn apart just as easy as it comes together. Dench’s nuanced, detailed performance adds a rich layer to the already electrifying thriller, resulting in one of the most riveting climaxes in recent cinema.
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