Working Languages

Can't say I thought much of the movie but what about this for a review:

To play up the issues, carry them as subjects and bring into the limelight has been a forte of the Hollywood film makers ....

Judi Dench is playing a character of Barbara Covett, a veteran history teacher. She's known for being uncompromising and commanding in the school. In contrast, Cate Blanchett is performing a character of Sheba Hart, a young weak teacher who has no sway over her students. Barbara begins taking interest in Sheba and pens the daily notes about her.

Having seen the film, I now know that last line means she writes about her in her diary. But I'm still not too sure about what this might mean:

One day she witnesses Sheba Hart in a sexual encounter with her 15-year old student Steven. Anger sparks for Sheba in Barbara's heart that emerges a conniving apprehension to use this clandestine as a subtle form of blackmailing her

Actually, I've been here before. Original English so strange it could be a translation. Perhaps the writer got paid double, once for writing the text and once for making it look like she'd translated it.