Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Gary and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day because 1) we're not goopy romantics who think we need to get presents for each other whenever the calendar says to and 2) Christmas, our anniversary, and Gary's birthday all take place in the two preceding months, so we're broke by then. I tell you this because I went to go see this movie all alone and I think I was the ONLY PERSON who risked being seen out in public on Valentine's night without being safely wrapped around another person. I got more than a few "awwww...." looks. I guess I should've played to the crowd -- probably could've scored a pity slurpee.

OK. I loved Zoë Heller's book, on which this is based. I couldn't stop talking about it the entire time I was reading: the subtlety, the incisiveness, the little ways in which we lie to ourselves so that we can cope with our lives... all thrown out the window. Instead of a brilliant character study of someone who feeds off women without even realizing how it might hurt them or that she is actually attracted to them, we get an obvious take on a woman who knows exactly what she's doing -- going so far as to make a plan to get what she wants. How I HATED what they did to the story. It was perfect on the page and it's just so regular on the screen.

Maybe this is a good movie, but because I can't mentally divorce it from its source, I can't tell. Chalk this up as an example of reading before watching ruining the movie experience, I guess.

C+