Is this a lesbian film?
Strictly speaking, Notes on a Scandal is not a lesbian film. However, it features intense homoerotic undertones and a female-female relationship shaped by obsession, power, and emotional control. The character of Barbara, played by Judi Dench, has a deeply possessive and psychologically charged attachment to Sheba, played by Cate Blanchett. Her gaze, her diary, and her escalating manipulation have led many to consider this film “lesbian-coded” or “queer-coded,” making it a compelling entry in queer film studies even without explicit representation.
Sheba Hart, a beautiful and refined new art teacher, joins a London secondary school and quickly catches the attention of Barbara Covett, a much older and solitary history teacher. Barbara quietly observes her, soon inserting herself into Sheba’s life under the guise of friendship.
Sheba confides in Barbara about her stagnant marriage to an older man, her struggles with a rebellious daughter and a developmentally challenged son. The two women appear to form a warm and trusting bond—until Barbara discovers Sheba is having an illicit affair with a 15-year-old student.
What follows is a tense psychological unraveling. Barbara agrees to keep Sheba’s secret, but her emotional grip tightens. Her obsession grows, and the friendship becomes toxic, laced with manipulation, blackmail, and betrayal. Barbara’s meticulously kept diary—ostensibly private—becomes a weapon. When the secret inevitably comes to light, Sheba is left to deal with both public disgrace and personal devastation, while Barbara seeks her next emotional conquest.
Notes on a Scandal Cast
Charactor
A sharp-tongued, solitary history teacher with a history of boundary-crossing emotional attachments to younger women.
Judi Dench
Judi Dench, one of Britain’s most celebrated actresses, is best known internationally as M in the James Bond franchise. Here, she delivers a performance that is cold, claustrophobic, and utterly magnetic.
A new art teacher whose beauty and aloofness make her both admired and vulnerable. Her affair with a student becomes the catalyst for a psychological implosion.
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett won an Oscar nomination for this role. Known for her versatility (Blue Jasmine, Carol, TÁR), she embodies both Sheba’s grace and naivety with nuance.
Director
Richard Eyre
Richard Eyre is a renowned British director celebrated for his work in both theatre and film. Formerly the Artistic Director of the Royal National Theatre, Eyre has a reputation for bringing emotionally intense and morally complex stories to life. With Notes on a Scandal, he crafts a tightly wound character study full of simmering tension and claustrophobic obsession. His direction keeps the audience uncomfortably close to the unraveling psyches of both Barbara and Sheba, emphasizing intimacy, power, and control with surgical precision.
Movie Highlight
The confrontation scene where Barbara begs Sheba to comfort her over her dying cat—only to explode in manipulative rage when refused—is unforgettable. Judi Dench’s performance here is chillingly precise, her tears and fury coexisting in the same breath. It marks the turning point from uneasy friendship to emotional terrorism.
Notes on a Scandal Review
Review
⭐ Story – 4.5/5
This is not a typical drama. It’s a slow-burning psychological thriller that dissects emotional dependency, loneliness, and manipulation. The narrative structure, told partly through Barbara’s diary entries, offers a chilling look into obsession disguised as companionship.
⭐ Acting – 5/5
Judi Dench delivers one of her career-best performances as the predatory, emotionally repressed Barbara. Her calculated stillness is terrifying. Cate Blanchett is heartbreakingly human as Sheba—vulnerable, flawed, and eventually devastated. Their chemistry is electric, though not romantic in the traditional sense.
⭐ Chemistry – 4.5/5
Though not a romance, the tension between Barbara and Sheba is thick with subtext. Every gaze, every touch, every silence is loaded. This film masterfully navigates the line between platonic care and obsessive longing.
⭐ Production – 4/5
The muted tones, grey skies, and tightly composed interiors contribute to the oppressive sense of dread. Philip Glass’s haunting score underscores the emotional pressure cooker of the story.
⭐ Ending – 4/5
The final scenes reveal Barbara’s emotional patterns repeating—she shifts her attention to a new, younger woman, implying that her cycle of obsession will continue. It’s bleak, subtle, and brilliantly cynical.
💭 My Take
This film lingers. It’s not about love but about the perils of being unseen, misunderstood, and emotionally starved. I wouldn’t call it a “lesbian love story,” but rather a meditation on queer-coded loneliness. Barbara’s fixation isn’t about sex—it’s about possession, about control, about filling a void so large it devours everything around it. Cate Blanchett’s Sheba, on the other hand, is a tragic figure caught between personal desperation and societal failure. This is one of those rare films that portrays female relationships not as nurturing havens, but as battlegrounds for power and attention.
Notes on a Scandal Information
Film Festival Recognition
Notes on a Scandal was widely acclaimed by critics and received numerous prestigious nominations, including:
🎥 Academy Awards (Oscars) – 4 Nominations
Best Actress (Judi Dench)
Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Patrick Marber)
Best Original Score (Philip Glass)
🏆 BAFTA Awards – 3 Nominations
Best British Film
Best Actress in a Leading Role (Judi Dench)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Cate Blanchett)
🌍 Golden Globe Awards – 2 Nominations
Best Actress – Drama (Judi Dench)
Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
💬 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards
Nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress