Notes On A Scandal vs Dolores Claiborne

It is truly rare in movies to see an unstable character that doesn’t result from a character pulling a personality switcheroo. Without fail, the neurotic, possibly psychotic character is someone we initially think is a sweet, supportive spouse/friend/babysitter/cop/one-night-stand/roommate. It’s only later that we find out that Hedy is a puppy-killing haircut-stealer, or that Alex is a rabbit-boiling wife-teller. In Richard Eyre’s Notes on a Scandal, we pretty much know who’s unhinged from the start, and so do the other characters. But in a nice twist, everyone needs her, just as she is: crazy, mean and pathetic.

Judi Dench stars as Barbara, a lonely, strict school teacher, who puts up with exactly zero bullshit and spends most of her time alone with her cat, Portia. When we first see her, we know she has problems, and that many of them are of her own doing. Barbara keeps others at a distance, even as she craves the friendship and admiration of her peers. She finds both in Sheba (Cate Blanchett) a new art teacher, who is young, beautiful, and bohemian enough to teach art, but not so much that it’s annoying. Barbara and Sheba meet for coffee, and soon they’re friends, with Barbara invited over for dinner.

Something curious happens. Barbara has been narrating the film, through her journal entries, and while she’s critical, she’s not vicious. She’s probably like you are about your job and coworkers in your journal. But at dinner, we see Barbara’s true colors. She’s observing Sheba’s family, judging them, and assuming that Sheba feels the same way. That her son with Down’s Syndrome is a jokey pest, that her husband is too old for her, that Barbara is a breath of fresh air in her otherwise monotonous home. Barbara has a bit of a crush on Sheba, to the point that she’s probably rather Sheba not become friends with the other teachers. Barbara needs Sheba to admire her, to look up to her and desire advice. She wants to be Sheba’s confidant.

And her opportunity is coming, because Sheba is doing something wrong. Maybe you’ve read about it in another review, or discerned it from the trailer, but I’m not going to spoil it here, lest you judge Sheba as soon as she appears on screen. It’s a huge mistake on her part, morally, professionally, for her family. Sheba has screwed up royally, and cannot stop, even if she wants to, which she does not. Barbara leaps on this chance to help Sheba keep her secret, with exclusive, on-call friendship in return.

Notes on a Scandal is near deviant in the pleasure it takes in dismantling Sheba’s life. She’s really only keeping one secret, and then later, telling one lie. Cate Blanchett is perfect casting for Sheba. Blanchett is an actor who comes off as keenly alert and intelligent. Sheba feels she had to do what she did, and we believe her. Hey, if Cate Blanchett can’t accurately identify her own emotions and motives, who can? What happens to Sheba—her marriage, her job, her friendship with Barbara—is all horrible, and possibly also deserved, yet I still viewed her as the movie’s heroine. Cate Blanchett, a movie star who still wields the power to surprise us, is phenomenal. She’s got a cocky, noisy, Courtney Love-on-the-sidewalk moment near the end that’s so shocking it’ll change your position in your seat. Don’t you love scenes like that? I was on the edge of my seat and leaned back, but saw a few viewers make the opposite move. And all the while, Judi Dench’s twisted, entitled Barbara sits back, pulling string after string, delighting in being the conductor of such a delicious, dirty opera.

That’s not what you expected, is it? That a British movie starring Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench and Bill Nighy might be described using words like “dirty”, or “deviant” or “Courtney Love”. Notes on a Scandal is a rich character study, and it’s blackly funny, but it’s also noticeably American. We’ve seen bit of this unfortunate friendship storyline before, in movies like Fatal Attraction and Single White Female, and we’ve seen desperate, bored yuppies take one step too far over the line, like in Unfaithful. Notes on a Scandal, thankfully, doesn’t get bloody like those films, but for a while you’ll think it’s mainstream enough that it might. But there’s something about Dench’s Barbara that seems familiar. She’s brittle and awful, but also dependable and competent. If there were bloodshed, she’d know what to do with the body, and she could keep any secret if she truly wanted to. If only she’d work on those social skills.

In another time and place—say, America—Barbara might have made a good friend for Dolores Claiborne. Dolores is terrible. She’s stubborn, mouthy, rude, maybe not that smart, and on the wrong side of the law. But, she’s loyal, and hardworking, and damn if that woman can’t keep one hell of a secret.

There is, I’m convinced, a parallel universe in which Kathy Bates has an Oscar for Dolores Claiborne. She’s in nearly every frame of the movie, and nearly every frame crackles with wit, fear, rage, regret, and that sharp New England accent that Dolores uses to spit threats at the cops, her boss, her abusive husband, her daughter and anyone else who has it coming (and a few who don’t. Dolores is what you might call difficult). Dolores is being investigated because her boss died under mysterious circumstances, much as her husband did decades prior. That both boss and husband were abusive hurts Dolores’ case somewhat. Her daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) comes to town to represent her during interrogation. Like Notes on a Scandal, Dolores Claiborne walks a line between drama and thriller, and is also surprisingly funny at times. However, when I saw Dolores Claiborne, I assumed it would be a slick mainstream American thriller (it’s based on a book by Stephen King, for crying out loud). That it’s got some of the best cinematography of the 1990s, spans decades, and is as much a character piece as a revenge thriller is one of the most pleasant movie surprises you’re likely to find.

Taylor Hackford directed Dolores Claiborne with an epic scope for what is otherwise a small movie; I regret never seeing it on a big screen. He’s packed the movie with vivid performances by Bates, Leigh, Judy Parfitt (as Dolores’ monstrous yet wise boss), David Strathairn and Christopher Plummer.

Dolores Claiborne did a lot of things she’s accused of, but lives by her own internal logic and law, and is still able to get herself up and out to work each day without being crippled by guilt. Like Barbara and Sheba, she’s maybe a little bit unhinged, and could maybe benefit from therapy or even a patch of jail time. There’s help for her out there, but you don’t want to be the one to tell her she needs it.

Notes on a Scandal: B+
Dolores Claiborne: A