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Notes on a Scandal
Notes on a Scandal Image
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Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 68 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Andrew Simpson, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench
  • Summary: Based on the novel by Zoe Heller, this psychological thriller portrays two women caught up in a drama of need and betrayal. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 35
  3. Negative: 1 out of 35
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    100
    Notes on a Scandal won't be everyone's cup of tea. But if you like your films strong, this one is not to be missed.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    60
    Eyre does a fine job overseeing performances by a terrific cast that rings true until female hysteria takes over the final act. But in tone and theme, the film has all the hallmarks of playwright-screenwriter Marber's stark, uncompromising misanthropy, if not misogyny.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Phil Hall
    30
    Sadly, the whole affair is little more than ennui with a pedigree.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 44
  3. Negative: 4 out of 44
  1. ChristopherW.
    10
    One of the very finest films of 2006. Dench and Blanchett give flawless and unforgettable performances, particularly Dench. If the immortal Helen Mirren hadn't been in the running, Dench would most certainly have taken home a second Oscar. This film cuts deep, and its themes of abject isolation and loneliness are handled with a deftness and subtlety that few other films in this genre have matched. Both Blanchett's and Dench's characters are morally very questionable, but these two actresses create portraits that evoke empathy and compassion nonetheless. Brilliant filmmaking!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. StephenS.
    5
    Looks good for the first 20 minutes, creaks like Edwardian furniture ever after. Apart from the obnoxious score, the main problem is that Blanchett (as the cradle-snatching and adulterous schoolteacher) and Dench (as her slanderous and ultra-needy older ‘friend’) are pushed through their plot paces with only casual efforts to make credible their startling behavioural lurches. In the end, it’s hard to believe in or care about Blanchett’s affair with the schoolboy or her friendship with the older woman. Having done so well in the cutting-edge ‘Babel’, why on earth would the younger star sign up for a retro blackboard drama? Who needs ‘To Slur With Love’?… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. DWilly
    3
    I'm beginning to think that if it comes with an English accent you can automatically tack on an extra thirty points to its Metacritic score (if its about royals, as with "The Queen," fifty). I suppose this might have worked as a black comedy, but even the great Cate Blanchett can't keep the unintended laughter at bay and the skin from crawling as these ever so earnst, little people struggle through their unmotivated lives. Mike Leigh this is not.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 44 User Reviews

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