Speak (film)

Infobox Film
name = Speak


caption = "Speak" film poster
director = Jessica Sharzer
producer = Fred Berner
Matthew Myers
Annie Young Frisbie
Jessica Sharzer
writer = Laurie Halse Anderson (novel)
Jessica Sharzer (screenplay)
Annie Young Frisbie (screenplay)
starring = Kristen Stewart
Steve Zahn
distributor = Showtime Networks Inc.
released = January 20, 2004
runtime = 92 min.
language = English
music = Christopher Libertino
awards = Audience Award, 2004 Woodstock Film Festival
budget = $1,000,000 (estimated)
imdb_id = 0378793

"Speak" (2004) is an independent film based on the novel of the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson. It stars a then thirteen-year-old Kristen Stewart as the silent narrator Melinda Sordino.

Cast and Characters

*Kristen Stewart: Melinda Sordino
*Michael Angarano: David Petrakis
*Allison Siko: Heather
*Hallee Hirsh: Rachel Bruin
*Eric Lively: Andy Evans
*Steve Zahn: Mr. Freeman
*Elizabeth Perkins: Melinda's mother (Joyce Sordino)
*D.B. Sweeney: Melinda's father (Jack Sordino)
*Kimberly Kish: Science teacher
*Grace Ameter: Emily

The novel's author, Laurie Halse Anderson, has a cameo appearance as the lunch lady spooning out mashed potatoes on the first day of school.

Plot synopsis

"Speak" is a comedic drama about a high school freshman, Melinda Sordino, who becomes silent after she was raped by an upperclassman. "Speak" is based on Laurie Halse Anderson’s award-winning novel of the same name. The film is told through Melinda Sordino’s eyes and is wrought with her sardonic humor and blunt honesty. The film takes the audience from Melinda’s innocence, to the traumatic event and her subsequent social and emotional detachment, ending at her brave disclosure of the terrible incident. The film takes place over the course of a school year.

Melinda Sordino starts out her freshman year in high school being labeled a “squealer” for calling the cops to a house party the previous summer. Melinda has been so silenced by her rape that she cannot find the words to tell people why she made the phone call. Melinda is shunned by her friends from middle school, including her ex-best-friend Rachel, and is forced to deal with social rejection.

Melinda is unable to tell her parents about the experience, and although her parents notice the change in their daughter, they are unable to determine the cause. Her mother Joyce is overworked and too busy to attempt to divulge more than one-word answers from Melinda. Melinda’s father is struggling with unemployment and has little time to devote to his troubled daughter.

Although Melinda does not speak to many characters, she has plenty of thoughts. Her thoughts are often filled with sardonic humor. As if Melinda’s social life didn’t make school difficult enough, her teachers are insufferable. Mr. Neck constantly bullies Melinda and her English teacher refuses to make eye contact with students. Melinda is nice to a new student named Heather who claims to be Melinda’s “friend” but abandons her when the chance for social advancement arises. The only other student with whom Melinda has a positive experience is her lab partner Dave Petrakis, who has successfully managed to keep from affiliating himself with a clique.

Melinda’s true high point of the day comes in her art class taught by a free spirited teacher named (appropriately) Mr. Freeman. Freeman encourages student expression and Melinda begins to take his words to heart. Mr. Freeman allows Melinda to spend her nightmarish lunchtimes in his classroom rather than in the cafeteria. As time progresses, Melinda discovers an unused storage closet that she turns into her personal place of refuge and, eventually, revelation. Melinda turns all of her negative feelings and social difficulties into creative expression. While in her secret place, Melinda constantly thinks about the night of the party, and deals with her inner demons. The storage closet is the very place where Andy Evans, the rapist and the only other person who knows the truth about what happened the night of the party, threatens Melinda and challenges her bravery.

As the year progresses Melinda begins to face her fears and recapture the confidence that had previously eluded her. Her ex-best-friend Rachel starts dating Andy Evans, and Melinda fears that Rachel will suffer the same terrible event that she did. Eventually, Melinda successfully stands up to the power-crazy Mr. Neck and her social ladder climbing “friend” Heather. Melinda finally finds her voice and tells Rachel the truth about what happened that night at the party that leads to the downfall of Andy Evans, and Melinda’s empowerment and reconciliation with the events that previously plagued her. After Evans threatens Melinda, and she stands up to him, Melinda is able to finally talk to her mother about the event at the party and fully come out of her shell by the end of the film.

Film background information

The novel that the film is based on was published in October of 1999 and received rave reviews. Annie Young Frisbie happened upon the book and fell in love with the story of Melinda. Frisbie, who was with Fred Berner Films, met author Laurie Halse Anderson at a book signing and later successfully made a bid to get the publishing rights to a film version. Once obtained, Frisbie found the right director for the film expediently, deciding on Jessica Sharzer.

Production took place in a different city than in the novel. Columbus, Ohio was chosen because a production partner, Matthew Myers, was relocating there with his new bride and suggested it. Additionally, the Mayor’s office and school district welcomed the production team and were extremely helpful. The residents of Columbus were also more than willing to be extras in the film. A wonderful cast of supporting actors was assembled efficiently and production was almost ready to begin.

The last and most important piece of the puzzle was who would play the main character, Melinda. The role was difficult because of the lack of speaking lines and the tremendous non-verbal acting talent required to accurately portray a teenager forced to deal with social alienation as a result of a traumatic rape. Kristen Stewart was the perfect actress to play Melinda in the eyes of Sharzer. Although Stewart was only 13, Sharzer was very impressed with her intelligence, intensity, and striking expressions. All of those attributes were quintessential to the role of Melinda Sordino.

Film production took only 21 days in August 2003. Flooding during an especially heavy summer rain caused filming to be temporarily postponed and during that time author Laurie Halse Anderson visited the set with her daughter. She was very impressed and told Frisbie that she never doubted the production for a minute.

On September 5, 2005, Showtime and Lifetime Television simultaneously aired the film. Lifetime had to make minor cuts for commercial time in a two-hour segment, but Showtime aired the film in its entirety.

Comparison With the Book

*The rape scene was originally supposed to take place in the woods. However, shortly before filming, Kristen Stewart discovered she had an allergy to the grass that caused her to rash, so the scene was moved to a car. When she's walking home from the party, there are leaves on her back because that scene was filmed before she learned of the allergy.
*In the ending of the movie Melinda tells her mother she was raped, but in the book she tells her art teacher, Mr. Freeman.
*When Andy confronts her in the book he tries to rape her a second time while in the movie he just threatens her.
*In the book Rachelle calls Andy out about the rape at the Prom, but in the movie it happens in the car.
*In the book Rachelle has her outburst with Melinda in the library.
*Going along with the film's satirical approach to American secondary education, Merryweather High School's school mascot changes over the course of the film, like in the novel. However it changes from the Trojans to the Hornets because "Trojan" is the name of a condom and it did not reflect the school's policy of promoting sexual abstinence.
*In the movie, Melinda shows her art teacher, Mr Freeman, the closet where she kept the paintings of trees. This does not occur in the book.
*In the novel, the party at which Melinda calls the police takes place some time during the last week of August; in the film, the party takes place on the last day of Melinda's 8th grade school year

External links

*imdb title|id=0378793|title=Speak
* http://www.writerlady.com/speakmovie.html