Kiss me, Cate
Cate with a very apt pupil
They play high school teachers, Judy a repressed lesbian spinster, Cate a failed bohemian settling into the middle-class routine of husband, home and family. Their jobs and the scandal of the title (an illegal sexual tryst) push them together, and for the first forty minutes we’re whisked away on some clever dialog, with Dench’s deliciously cynical narration a refreshing throwback to Oscar Wilde’s erudite brand of sarcasm.
But once a flaky blackmail scheme worms its way into the plot, all that’s earned our attention to that point gradually dissipates.
And it’s a shame because the lead characters have enormous potential, especially Blanchett’s. Married to a man twice her age, with two children testing her patience, the disillusioned artist could’ve represented the creative spirit struggling through banality with backstory to spare, something Cate could easily (and expertly) pull off. Instead, she strikes up uneasy acquaintances with Dench and a horny teenage boy (played by Andrew Simpson) that never quite ring true.
The screenplay also shortchanges Judy, who deteriorates into an annoying stalker. Indeed, the film’s downward spiral begins when her initially brilliant narration becomes flat and tiresome.
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