Post by StevePulaski on Mar 3, 2011 16:14:24 GMT -5
Rating: ★★
While Speak is a poor adaption of the very engaging and dark novel of the same name, it proves something strong; there is no successful way to adapt Laurie Halse Anderson's novel into a film. It can't be done. Most of the dialog is internal in our main character Melinda Sordino's head. For the movie to be well done, it would have to be 85% inside the head of her. There is just no way to do that. There won't be an even ratio to dialog/internal dialog.
The plot: Melinda Sordino (Stewart) goes from being an average high school girl, to miserable Freshman just like that after being date-raped by Andy Evans (Lively) at a party in the summer. Melinda, without thinking, called the police at the party and numerous kids were arrested. Melinda has now been shunned by her peers, and pretty much the rest of her school.
Melinda doesn't really use her voice, and thats a big problem. Her silence annoys the faculty and her "friends." It's hurting her grades, her reputation, and her life. She is haunted by the memories of that night, and must live through her first year of High School as an outcast.
It's almost heartbreaking to see what Melinda goes through. Actress Kristen Stewart plays her with full misery (a good thing). Back in 2004, Stewart wasn't as famous. Not until 2008 when her break out role as Bella in Twilight released. Coming from a male who appreciated the first Twilight film, but wasn't so on with the second one, I can say that Stewart is the only good thing in this film. Casting her as Melinda Sordino was a good idea from the beginning. I mean this in the nicest of ways; she looks miserable.
The reason I was so on with the novel Speak was because of Melinda. The book is told through her eyes, in the first person, with blunt honesty. She is so mean, but she's definitely true. Some of my favorite quotes by her are;
"All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. No one really cares what you have to say."
"It's time for a mental health day. So conjugate this: I cut class. You cut class. He/she/it cuts class."
She's a smart-ass. She's me if I was a girl. She's one of the most hilariously dark characters I've seen in a book.
Melinda finds solace with her art teacher Mr. Freeman (Zahn) who gives her advice and encourages her to do her best. Steve Zahn was part of one of my favorite films, Joy Ride, and does a great job in this film as well. Stewart and Zahn are the only two actors in this film that seemed to be on with the making of this film. The rest of the cast is two-dimensional.
The movie outruns the book in various parts. It seems like some parts that happened late in the book occurred in the very beginning of the film. Notably where they change the mascot name from the Trojans to the Hornets. What about the Wombats? Just abandon that?
Not every movie follows the book, but it's inexcusable to pretty much reorder events in the movie that aren't parallel to the book. There's really no excuse to mess with a book's chronological order.
Holes wasn't translated to it's potential on film either. But the script was solid because Louis Sachar himself had wrote the screenplay for the film. There was no excuse for the film not to follow the book. Maybe if Anderson wrote the screenplay the film would be better, maybe adding bigger names to the cast would've been better, maybe forgetting the idea of Speak on film would've been the best.
To be fair, some points are executed well. The final scene with Andy and Melinda was done well, there are scattered points throughout the film that are done fair, and once more, Stewart and Zahn both give above-average performances. Sadly, Speak disappoints on film. It was never meant to be.
NOTE: This review was read before my English class, Freshman year in high school in March 2011.
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Eric Lively, and Steve Zahn. Directed by: Jessica Sharzer.
While Speak is a poor adaption of the very engaging and dark novel of the same name, it proves something strong; there is no successful way to adapt Laurie Halse Anderson's novel into a film. It can't be done. Most of the dialog is internal in our main character Melinda Sordino's head. For the movie to be well done, it would have to be 85% inside the head of her. There is just no way to do that. There won't be an even ratio to dialog/internal dialog.
The plot: Melinda Sordino (Stewart) goes from being an average high school girl, to miserable Freshman just like that after being date-raped by Andy Evans (Lively) at a party in the summer. Melinda, without thinking, called the police at the party and numerous kids were arrested. Melinda has now been shunned by her peers, and pretty much the rest of her school.
Melinda doesn't really use her voice, and thats a big problem. Her silence annoys the faculty and her "friends." It's hurting her grades, her reputation, and her life. She is haunted by the memories of that night, and must live through her first year of High School as an outcast.
It's almost heartbreaking to see what Melinda goes through. Actress Kristen Stewart plays her with full misery (a good thing). Back in 2004, Stewart wasn't as famous. Not until 2008 when her break out role as Bella in Twilight released. Coming from a male who appreciated the first Twilight film, but wasn't so on with the second one, I can say that Stewart is the only good thing in this film. Casting her as Melinda Sordino was a good idea from the beginning. I mean this in the nicest of ways; she looks miserable.
The reason I was so on with the novel Speak was because of Melinda. The book is told through her eyes, in the first person, with blunt honesty. She is so mean, but she's definitely true. Some of my favorite quotes by her are;
"All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. No one really cares what you have to say."
"It's time for a mental health day. So conjugate this: I cut class. You cut class. He/she/it cuts class."
She's a smart-ass. She's me if I was a girl. She's one of the most hilariously dark characters I've seen in a book.
Melinda finds solace with her art teacher Mr. Freeman (Zahn) who gives her advice and encourages her to do her best. Steve Zahn was part of one of my favorite films, Joy Ride, and does a great job in this film as well. Stewart and Zahn are the only two actors in this film that seemed to be on with the making of this film. The rest of the cast is two-dimensional.
The movie outruns the book in various parts. It seems like some parts that happened late in the book occurred in the very beginning of the film. Notably where they change the mascot name from the Trojans to the Hornets. What about the Wombats? Just abandon that?
Not every movie follows the book, but it's inexcusable to pretty much reorder events in the movie that aren't parallel to the book. There's really no excuse to mess with a book's chronological order.
Holes wasn't translated to it's potential on film either. But the script was solid because Louis Sachar himself had wrote the screenplay for the film. There was no excuse for the film not to follow the book. Maybe if Anderson wrote the screenplay the film would be better, maybe adding bigger names to the cast would've been better, maybe forgetting the idea of Speak on film would've been the best.
To be fair, some points are executed well. The final scene with Andy and Melinda was done well, there are scattered points throughout the film that are done fair, and once more, Stewart and Zahn both give above-average performances. Sadly, Speak disappoints on film. It was never meant to be.
NOTE: This review was read before my English class, Freshman year in high school in March 2011.
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Eric Lively, and Steve Zahn. Directed by: Jessica Sharzer.