Yesterday I caught this drama playing on the TV and since I was looking for a slow-paced movie to watch I decided to give this one a shot. The story is mainly about 2 women who work as teachers at a school. The older one is about to retire and the younger has just landed this job.
The old woman is a very lonely person, she is single and is the stereotypical cat lady, she literally has a cat living with her. She's a little bitter and tends to observe other people and judge them silently. When the new teacher arrives, she quickly becomes part of her daily observations.
Eventually, the 2 of them make contact and a friendship starts to naturally develop between the 2 women. That is until a school scandal is discovered that will put to test how authentic and real this friendship really is and show the ugly things a person can do just for the sake of gaining companionship, even if it is on fake grounds.
The setting is a normal neighborhood with a regular school. There is nothing fancy or spectacular about anything in this film. However, people can relate to the plot and even enjoy because it feels so real. We read similar news about this type of scandal all the time and the movie provides a little bit of background for the people involved and the collateral damage they have to endure.
The film also shows how good people can act in a toxic way if their levels of frustration become overwhelming, even taking counterproductive decisions that can clearly haunt them in the future. An advice I will tell to anyone watching this film is to pay attention to Judi Dench's character, the old woman. She might have some kind of personality disorder and I think it shows from the beginning.
This movie can be boring for a lot of people, so don't watch it if you are looking for something exciting. Also, this is a story mainly for adults because it is only adults that will be able to recognize the struggle the 2 woman face throughout the entire story.
The best
- A dramatic story that could very well happen in real life, good acting and the overall production was of good quality.
The worst
- You will only enjoy this film if you are in the mood for a quiet slow-paced movie. The story isn't really mindblowing and it doesn't even try to be. It is a good film about common drama. It is not the best in the genre but I believe it is worth watching.
More information: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1259-notes-on-a-scandal Review: AAA In numbers: 7/10
