Skip to main content
Notes on a Scandal Movie Poster
Plot, Details & Awards

Notes on a Scandal

Rated R for language and some aberrant sexual content.

R In Theaters 12/27/2006 , 91min.
Share this movie on

Plot & Details

Lust, jealousy, and revenge come cloaked in the guise of friendship in this psychological drama. Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) is a history teacher at a high school in London; while elderly Barbara is very bright, she's also severe and domineering, with a strong personality that tends to put people off. Barbara also takes a voyeuristic delight in recording the actions of those around her in her diary in the most minute detail. When Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), a bright and attractive woman in her mid-thirties, is hired as the school's new art teacher, Barbara believes she may have found someone worthy of her friendship, though she's soon disappointed to discover that Sheba has a husband and two children, a lifestyle that she finds offensively bourgeois. However, Barbara's obsessive interest in Sheba is rewarded when the younger teacher confesses that one of her students, Steven (Andrew Simpson), has developed an obviously sexual interest in her. However, in fact, Steven's crush on Sheba is hardly one-sided, and in time Barbara discover that the two have been making love on a regular basis for months. When circumstances turn Barbara against Sheba, she uses what she knows about the affair to destroy the life of her "friend." Based on the novel by Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal also stars Bill Nighy.
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • Genre(s): Drama
  • Run Time: 91min.
  • Theatrical Release Date: 12/27/2006
  • DVD Release Date: 04/17/2007
  • Distributor(s): Fox Searchlight
  • Director(s): Richard Eyre
  • Starring: Judi Dench , Cate Blanchett , Bill Nighy , Andrew Simpson , Philip Davis
  • Themes: Voyeurs,Dangerous Attraction,Faltering Friendships,Teachers and Students,Keeping a Secret,Stalkers,Scandals and Cover-Ups,Infidelity,Blackmail
  • Tone: Lurid,Ominous,Sexual,Tense
  • Keywords: ethics,extramarital-affair,friendship,lesbianism,marriage,teacher
  • Country of Origin: USA - Limited (12-22-2006),USA (01-26-2007)
  • Language: English

Awards

Academy Awards

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
2006 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Patrick Marber Nominated
2006 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress Judi Dench Nominated
2006 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Music Score Philip Glass Nominated
2006 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress Cate Blanchett Nominated

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
2006 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Actress Judi Dench Nominated
2006 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay Patrick Marber Nominated
2006 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best British Film Nominated

Golden Globes

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
2006 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Judi Dench Nominated
2006 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay Patrick Marber Nominated
2006 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Cate Blanchett Nominated
Netflix - Try for Free

Instantly watch TV episodes and movies via the Internet on your computer or TV. 1 month FREE!

Stay Connected with Moviefone