Dissenting Notes on a Scandal

Notes on a Scandal has been getting lots of buzz and good reviews which is why my wife and I saw it. I would not recommend it to a friend, not because it is a downer - which it is - but because it is not very good. The review which led us to see it praised it's reality. My wife and I independently found it quite unreal from the start. While Judy Dench gives a fine performance of a hateful person, her motivations are stereotypes lacking any depth or persuasiveness, the other lead portrays an art teacher but one never senses despite a few lines what led her to teaching nor does one sense any interest in teaching on the part of either lead. Good acting cannot save a bad script and flat one dimensional characters - the media may be creating a buzz, but I advise people to choose otherwise. Depressing material is not necessarily bad if there is an important message conveyed or if one is truly involved, but my involvement here was simply as a voyeur. I wouldn't waste my time writing this except given what I have read I think many lured by what is being said to promote the film will be sorely disappointe din how they spent an evening.