"Little Children" and "Notes on a Scandal"

Quote of the day:
“What did you learn in school today? Did you learn how to believe or did you learn how to think?”
--Ralph Nader’s memory of what his father told him as a child.

We’ll be hearing more in coming days about the movies “Notes on a Scandal” and “Little Children.” Actresses from both films are nominated for Academy awards. And though the films are quite different, they have a significant theme in common.

Judi Dench is especially memorable in “Notes,” portraying an aging and sexually frustrated schoolteacher attracted to a vulnerable married colleague, played by Cate Blanchett, who is also nominated.

Kate Winslett is nominated with Dench for Best Actress (which is the toughest category this year--all the performances are great). In Todd Fields’ “Little Children” she plays a suburban housewife who begins to sense something is missing in her life. She finds herself attracted to a househusband who hangs out at the same neighborhood park she does.

Interwoven with this story is that of a convicted child molester living in Winslett’s neighborhood, and the wave of fear and anger his presence elicits. Inappropriate sexual contact with a minor is also a major element in “Notes on a Scandal.”

From these capsule descriptions, these films may not sound all that appealing. Yet they are both excellent, courageous, moving and thought-provoking.

In very different ways they deal with the human need for intimate connection, and what happens over time when that need is not met. There is a wonderful, wide variety of human beings sensitively and realistically portrayed. Each person is a bit flawed in different ways, and each is struggling in his or her own way for connection.