Director: Richard Eyre
Main Stars: Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Juno Temple
Date of Release: 2009
Date Viewed: 7/1/12
Brief Summary:
A bohemian art teacher, Sheba, escapes the boredom of her dysfunctional family life by conducting a relationship with her 15 year old pupil. Meanwhile an infatuated fellow teacher stumbles upon the affair and uses the secret to manipulate and control Sheba, securing her loyalty as a friend.
Response:
I thought the film was brilliant! It effectively blurred right and wrong into a grey haze as opposed to the typical convention of Good vs Evil which allows only sympathy for the almost faultless protagonist. Although Dench’s role was essentially as the “villain” of the film, each individual character had flaws and made their own mistakes; over complicating things for themselves and forcing them to take responsibility for their actions. The audience was able to see the nature behind Dench’s character and identify with her as the strong narrative allowed her to talk directly to the viewer via her private diary and justify her behaviour. In this way, the character developments and downfalls were both believable and thought provoking.
I thought the film was interesting and if Eyre's aim was to make the viewer feel uncomfortable, it definitley worked. The character's were well constructed and the all star cast worked well together. As the film is an adaptation of a book, it's easy to have certain preconcieved ideas but the narrative worked well and provided a slightly chilling watch.
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