Notes On A Scandal: Richard Eyre and Patrick Marber interview

The director and writer of Notes On A Scandal discuss their Oscar-nominated adaptation.

Transferring the best-selling book Notes On A Scandal to the big screen was always going to be a tricky proposition. Novelist Zoé Heller hooked in readers by disclosing the titular scandal from page one through the eyes of frumpy schoolteacher Barbara Covett. It's a highly subjective account, however, speculating on the motivations of a younger colleague, Sheba, as she embarks on an affair with a pupil. Tension builds as doubts are cast over Barbara's own emotional stability.

For screenwriter Patrick Marber and director Richard Eyre, simply trying to replicate that pattern of revelations was not an option. "It was important that the relationship between Sheba and Steven be represented truthfully," says Eyre, "by which I mean that the audience sees that it's hinged on both a passionate, sexual attraction and a kind of tenderness and mutual curiosity.

Opting for a portrayal of Sheba (Cate Blanchett) that wasn't coloured by the skewed observations of Barbara (Judi Dench) meant that Marber had to look at other ways to create suspense. Ultimately he does this by emphasising Barbara's predatory nature - using Sheba's secret to guarantee a relationship with her. "Everything she does is out of a desperate loneliness," explains Marber, "and yet, at the same time, she's a monster..." The result is an unusual yet very cinematic psychological thriller.

In the video Eyre and Marber talk about their approach to the adaptation, and Marber reveals all about Judi Dench's knickers.

Notes On A Scandal is released in UK cinemas on Friday 2nd February 2007.

Stella Papamichael | Published 01 February 07