User Reviews

Finally an intelligent film about teen agers. The fascinating novel by Laurie Halse Anderson comes to the screen adapted by the director herself, Jessica Sharzer. The film merits to be seen by a wide audience because it tackles a lot of problems young people, especially young girls. Parents should see this movie because it will be an eye opener for many.

If you haven't seen the film, perhaps you should stop reading here.

Melinda Sordino is a wounded young woman. In flashbacks we see her as a happy and social teen ager, in sharp contrast with the taciturn and lonely girl we watch boarding the bus to go to school as the film begins. In flashbacks one gets to know the trauma that Melinda has gone through. All her bitterness is kept hidden inside her, as she won't talk about it, much less tell her distant parents what made her change.

Melinda is a loner by necessity. Her former best friends turned against her because she called the police when the party, that proved to be the turning point in her life, gets out of hand. As a result, Melinda is ridiculed by her peers. "Speak" deals with the complex problems young people have to face on a daily basis in school, a place that should be a place of learning instead of a place that causes most problems among the young people, as Laurie Halse Anderson points out in her novel.

The only kind soul Melinda encounters is the art teacher Mr. Freeman. He is a man that doesn't adhere to conventions and seems to be a rebel himself. With his encouragement, Melinda begins to draw and sketch pieces that are crude and devoid of life, but in them, she shows a talent to be a good artist under the right circumstances.

Melinda realizes she must come out of the state that is affecting her life by confronting Rachel with the truth, something the other girl is not ready to accept since she is too emotionally involved with the young man that caused Melinda's trauma. The result is a changed Melinda, who suddenly realizes she must confess everything to her parents and go on with her life.

The film owes a lot to Kristen Stewart, who as Melinda projects all the emotions bottled up in this young woman. Ms. Stewart appears to be a natural performer who can express all what she is feeling by her expressions. Steve Zahn is seen as the understanding teacher who sees all the potential in Melinda and is instrumental in giving her the confidence she should have. Elizabeth Perkins and D.B. Sweeney are Melinda's parents who should have seen what's wrong with her from the start, but being so involved with their lives, don't pay attention to their suffering daughter.

Jessica Sharzer shows a potential for going far as a director because she shows a sensitivity rarely seen these days in serious movies dealing with wounded souls like Melinda Sordino.

In my review a year ago of "Catch That Kid", I referred to Kristen Stewart as a young Portman/Knightley. Most people thought I was going a bit overboard but with her performance in "Speak" I feel even more confident of my assessment. Although "Speak" was shot within a few months of "Catch That Kid" Stewart looks considerably older, with the Portman/Knightley connection even more obvious. Her understated performance as Melinda Sordino is absolutely riveting. Stewart's performance is critical to this film because she is not just the central character but also the narrator, the entire story is told from her point of view.

Cinematographer Andrij Parekh gets maximum effect from the camera as the film is filled with tight shots of Stewart's face and eyes. Director Jesseca Sharzer gets an incredible non-verbal performance from Stewart which is nicely offset by the voice-over narration. Like the narration in "The Opposite of Sex" and "Girl" this helps relieve the intensity and introduces some wry humor into the story. I particularly liked Stewart's offhand voice-over on her way to the principal's office: "I forgot that the suffragettes were hauled off to jail, duh".

Melinda's flat and distanced narration is often contradicted by the crushing emotional trauma she is experiencing on the screen, this dichotomy is a very effective way to illustrate her inner strength and multi-dimensionality.

Parekh complements his close work with interesting short focal transitions and some good exterior shots. One especially nice one is when Stewart is walking in the distance and the focus slowly changes to highlight a bee and a flower in the foreground.

Like "Welcome to the Dollhouse", the adult roles are a bit extreme but the student roles are very convincing.

Interestingly, the climatic scene actually occurs about 15 minutes before the ending. Melinda's rejuvenation happens during her impromptu hospital visit, her voice-over reflects this change: "It happened. There's no avoiding it. No forgetting." Strong again she dumps Heather, plays a killer set of tennis, and bicycles to the scene of last summer's party where she confronts what happened to her and decides to tell Rachel. The tree that inspired her painting helps tie everything together.

Virtually everyone should find this film engrossing, but it will especially appeal to those who like to see their heroines get stronger as a story progresses.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

NOTES ON THE ADAPTATION: A personal visualization process occurs when reading a book that often makes its movie adaptation less powerful and less enjoyable. But it also affords the opportunity to focus on understanding why the screenwriter, director, and editor choose to use, alter, or omit each element in the book. Adaptations are all about economy and efficiency as they try to tell the same essential story visually and often symbolically.

In the case of "Speak", I think the movie is more powerful than the book as you feel Melinda's trauma more, even if you don't understand it as precisely. The visuals of Melinda's emotional battles are more powerful than any narrative; as are the visuals of her drawings and of the process of her growing stronger as the story progresses.

The adaptation shows Melinda's parents more positively but still portrays them as disinterested. The key scene is Christmas morning. Watch how after receiving the art supplies Melinda is pleasantly stunned that her parents were actually aware that she was drawing, then quickly disappointed when they disconnect and start their own conversation about the stereo system, which brings on the flashback of them not being there when she returned home from the party.

They wonderfully condense the process of Mr. Freeman connecting with Melinda, the key scene is when he and Ivy are discussing her art project with the turkey bones and the palm tree. Melinda is seated as they come into the frame from both sides. The camera is static as they discuss the project until just before Mr. Freeman says the word "pain". At that point they cut to a tight reaction shot of Melinda's face as the word registers and her eyes look up at him in surprise. With that short sequence they manage to communicate about 50 pages of narrative and to say all that is needed about the special relationship that Melinda and Mr. Freeman will develop. The viewer is shown not just that he is picking up her pain from the symbolism in her art work, but more importantly that she now realizes there is someone who is tuned in and interested in her welfare. This little sequence is truly inspired and a great illustration of the visual power of film.

When I saw this film I cried at the beautiful use of symbolism. The color orange as a negative color, trees as a reminder, not being able to speak, speaking through art, The Scarlet Letter and being branded as something, etc.

An excellent mention is Kristen Stewart's performance and expressions--incredible. The school year as being marked by holidays was excellent. The rape scene broken in pieces like a puzzle was perfect.

The scene at the end when the art teacher (Steve Zahn) sees Melina's finished tree projects is incredibly moving, the whole time he was hearing her, but she never had to utter a word. Trees in general were a huge symbol. Her original picture looked phallic with the trunk and circle of leaves... and she was able to speak her rape terror in her pictures.

At the end when Melinda blinds Andy she takes his vision like he took her voice. A perfect revenge in standing up for yourself and defending your body... :-) A great educational experience.

This movie hits all the right notes. Entering freshman Melinda is "different" from last year. Her parents note it, her school mates note it, and many of them are hostile because of something that happened at the end of her 8th grade year. As the movie moves forward in present time, it also shows us via frequent flash backs what happened, gradually revealing all. We learn early that Melissa ended up calling 911, cops came over, there was lots of underage drinking, and many got in trouble. It is for this that many schoolmates are "former friends".

Kristen Stewart was 13 or 14 during filming and perfect for the part of Melinda Sordino. Michael Angarano, who was good in "Sky High" is good here as the classmate, David Petrakis, a rare sane voice that becomes her friend.

SPOILERS FOLLOW. The incident that got Melinda to call 911, and that traumatized her, was a rape by one of the popular boys. She told no one about it, having walked home while the police came that night. She held everything inside her, was joyless. When she finally got the courage to speak, she began to feel better. All her classmates eventually found out the truth of what happened. She was helped and motivated by her art teacher, played well by Steve Zahn. The movie ends with Melinda riding home with her mother, and beginning to tell her mother everything. Presumably, the boy got into trouble but the movie does not move in that direction, instead focusing on the girl's recovery.

Glad to see some of you still check in here...

Anyway, I read "Speak" earlier in the quarter. I thought it was good. It did have a few predictabilities and some holes, but I can see the value in reading it in high school. However, I watched the movie tonight. It is a lot different than the book. It doesn't have the sarcastic tone of the book. In the movie, you learn about the tragic event too early, the parents are semi-interested in Melinda's life and she doesn't go through the ostracism and betrayal that takes place in the book.

I agree this would have been a tough movie to make. With a main character that doesn't say much, it really presents a challenge. A lot of you will not like this but I think if the movie wasn't set up like an after-school special, it may have been able to connect with the book more.

ObKb, so I have ranted enough for now. The movie, by itself, is a nice view of the lives of high school students. But other than the character names and overall theme, Speak lacks punch! 6 out of 10!