Notes On A Scandal
Judi Dench/Cate Blanchett/Bill Nighy/92 minutes
The plot could have been lifted straight from the tabloids – an attractive art teacher has an affair with her 15-year-old student. But this is only one of two obsessions that the film, based on Zoe Heller’s novel of the same name, draws you into.
When Sheba Hart’s (Blanchett) secret is inadvertently discovered by her colleague Barbara Covett (Dench), she is at first relieved that the latter won’t squeal on her.
But that’s because Barbara is weaving her own web of deceit and treachery. Dench is all purse-lipped and steely-eyed as a repressed lesbian, but she also conveys the desperate loneliness of the character.
Blanchett’s role is more nuanced. She is excellent as a woman drowning in insecurities, grasping at affection and floundering in indecision.
The featurettes offered some morsels of interesting information, such as Dench’s ability to quickly get into and snap out of character.
Director Richard Eyre’s commentary was disappointing though. The admiration for his actors and the scriptwriter was clear but hardly makes for riveting dish.
(ST)

My Name Is Earl
Jason Lee/Ethan Suplee/Eddie Steeples/Jaime Pressly/624 minutes
Who would have thought that Jason Lee would find mainstream success playing a redneck low-life?
The former professional skateboarder’s first starring role was in Kevin Smith’s comedy Mallrats (1995) and he continued to act in several of the director’s films.
It seemed though that his appeal would remain cult, if fervent. All Girl Summer Fun Band even wrote a song called Jason Lee.
It took an unlikely TV series about ne’er-do-well and petty criminal Earl J. Hickey to turn Lee into a star.
After concluding that losing his winning lottery ticket was the result of bad karma, Hickey resolves to right his long list of past wrongs.
The path of true repentance never did run smooth but nobody expected it to be this hilarious.
Lee is deadpan funny and surrounded by an excellent supporting cast – Ethan Suplee as slow but sweet Randy Hickey and Jaime Pressly as Earl’s shrew of an ex-wife.
The audio commentaries were disappointingly blah, though you learn that creator Greg Garcia appears in the pilot episode.
Much better was the commentary done by the mothers of several cast and crew members for the Mother’s Day episode Dad’s Car.
There’s also a behind-the-scenes feature and an alternate-reality pilot in which Hickey’s epiphany is to screw those who have previously screwed him over.
The best measure of how strong the series is though, is the fact that even the deleted scenes are funny. Now that’s gold.
(ST)

Mercury Rev
Baybeats 2007
Esplanade Theatre

For a while, it seemed like an art installation show. A series of images – a happy dog enjoying the breeze in a car ride, two women whispering excitedly into each other’s ears – flickered on stage, accompanied by musical snippets.
Then it became a succession of album covers from artistes including David Bowie, Talking Heads and The Chemical Brothers, as if in contemplation of Mercury Rev’s place in the musical universe.
All this before the American indie band finally took the stage. Frontman Jonathan Donahue, 41, proved to be a charismatic presence as his lanky,clad-in-black frame pranced about the stage.
Deeply absorbed in the music, he was an energetic conductor, rousing the rest of the band with dramatic flourishes in numbers like The Dark Is Rising from All Is Dream (2001) and a cover of legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s You Gotta Serve Somebody.
And that raggedy voice of his was a poignant contrast to the lush wall of sound his fellow band members constructed.
Even though the introduction to the show pointed to the band’s roots in composing for experimental films, the songs performed were mostly from their last three albums.
Deserter’s Songs (1998), their critically acclaimed breakthrough, received the greatest airing over the 100-minute, 14-song set.Donahue and company saved the best for last as they offered their biggest hit Goddess On A Hiway for the encore after the rapturous 600-plus audience gave them a standing ovation.
The singer was clearly in a happy place even though he revealed that he had to forfeit his customary glass of wine here before going on stage.
More significantly, he surrendered himself to the soundscapes with quotes like“Your mind is not yours alone” flashing across the screen and hinting at the enigmas of life and the universe.
Occasionally, the audience was stunned by glaring stage lights (not to mention the deafening volume) – which could conceivably be interpreted as our collective blindness in the face of such immense existential questions.
In any case, the lights framed the band members in visually arresting silhouettes.
One particular image sticks in the mind – Donahue standing precariously on one leg, attempting to find balance and resolution before plunging fearlessly into a new song and a vista of wonder and majesty.
(ST)