Notes On A Scandal – A Study on Loneliness

Saw “Notes On A Scandal” last night – brilliant film that I don’t really want to see more than once – just a little too creepy. Brilliant performances from both Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench: both amazing actresses, and I can categorically say (having seen Helen Mirren in The Queen) that Dench deserved the best actress Oscar the other night. She was incredible, and the whole thing was directed and written remarkably well: I can’t think of a movie with a more effective use of narration.

But as much as Judi Dench’s character is unequivocably the villain, there’s a definite sense that this life is so hard for the lonely and elderly. It just really struck something in me, that in many ways helps me to understand the place for many old, single people that the traditional church has for them. A place where they belong, where they know how things operate, and where they can feel a part of a community. And as much as the revolutionary wants to mess some of that up, for many people that becomes a deeply missional activity.