Dench mesmerizes as Barbara Covett, a teacher who rules over her classroom with an iron fist, yet leads a desperate, solitary life outside it. That is, until she meets radiant new art teacher Sheba Hart (Blanchett). Although at first overjoyed with her newfound kindred spirit, when Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a student, her jealousy and rage spiral out of control.

Based on the novel by Zoe Heller, this movie skews the original personalities of the characters and by doing so, I believe harms the overall intent. Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench are BRILLIANT in this film so it's definitely worth the price of admission, but I recommend reading the novel first.