It is always scandalous when a teacher starts a relationship with a pupil. This might have worked in ancient Greece, but it is definitely not a part of the present curriculum. In this film Sheba (Cate Blanchett) starts a sexual relationship with 15-year-old boy, clearly underage thus. However, in these films the younger part is always the victim. We don't see, meaning we are not interested, how this encounter affected the boy. Actually it was the boy who started to seduce the teacher. Why did he do that? Was it an important step in his development? Did he do it to be able to blackmail his teacher? We never know. Of course there is also Sheba's side. She has an older husband and a son who needs special care. It seems that Sheba has a special lust for life and that her needs are not met at home. So her need for "young meat" could be a win-win situation, but, of course, in the world as it is she can only lose. This could hardly be a surprise for Sheba.
Barbara (Judy Dench) is in every aspect the opposite of Sheba. Living alone, a spinster. She is respected, but even more feared. We hear Barbara comment on the mental abilities of the school's students and we learn her as a cynic. Cynics often present a "hard skull", because they are not able to maintain the social contacts they want and need. Barbara's emotional target are younger women. Of course sentiments to the same sex are not really the thing in a school. The hetero-normative context thinks, that pupils might get smitten with the same desire. So Barbara is very secretive about her inclination. But when Barbara finds out about Sheba's secret affair with the boy, she sees a chance to blackmail her mentally. She almost forces her friendship on Sheba. But she overplays her card and at last loses everything. Her self-esteem lost touch with reality.
7/10
Barbara (Judy Dench) is in every aspect the opposite of Sheba. Living alone, a spinster. She is respected, but even more feared. We hear Barbara comment on the mental abilities of the school's students and we learn her as a cynic. Cynics often present a "hard skull", because they are not able to maintain the social contacts they want and need. Barbara's emotional target are younger women. Of course sentiments to the same sex are not really the thing in a school. The hetero-normative context thinks, that pupils might get smitten with the same desire. So Barbara is very secretive about her inclination. But when Barbara finds out about Sheba's secret affair with the boy, she sees a chance to blackmail her mentally. She almost forces her friendship on Sheba. But she overplays her card and at last loses everything. Her self-esteem lost touch with reality.
7/10
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