I was initially drawn to this film by mention of Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Together. Hmmm sounds promising, might be worth a look. Dench, plays an older, cynical teacher, and Blanchett, the young and very green newcomer to the teaching staff, taken under her increasingly malign wing. For totally different reasons, each woman feels a sense of quiet isolation and is driven towards radical and ultimately, self-destructive behaviour. The more deeply their lives intersect, the more overt the older teacher's motives and desperation become. Dench and Blanchett are totally convincing in their roles. I haven't seen Judi Dench in a such as this and she is, quite simply, magnificent. I found this film hugely engaging and would not hesitate to recommend it.
