Speak. Showtime Independent Films, 2004.Cast: Kristen Stewart, Michael Angarano, Robert John Burke, Hallee Hirsh, Eric Lively.
Director: Jessica Sharzer.
Writer: Laurie Halse Anderson (Novel), Jessica Sharzer (Screenplay)
Rating: PG-13.
Length: 93 minutes.
ASIN: B000A7Q2I2
Plot:
Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year of high school as an outcast. Over the summer, she attended a party where she was raped by Andy Evans, a senior. Scared and hurt, she called 911 and when the police came, everyone blamed her for trying to bust the party. Even her friends won’t talk to her and worse, her best friend Rachel begins dating Andy. Traumatized from the rape and unable to talk to anyone about it, Melinda slowly begins to lose the will to speak at all. She is a clever and witty girl, but her comments are only heard through her thought voice-overs. Her inability to speak isn’t helped by her weird teachers, especially the coach who bullies her. The only people who are able to get through to her are her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, and her lab partner, Dave Petrakis. Mr. Freeman encourages Melinda to express herself through art and she finds that she really enjoys doing so. She begins to decorate an unused storage closet that she finds and it becomes her escape when school is too much to handle. Melinda finally gains the courage to tell Rachel what happened. Rachel doesn’t believe her, but eventually confronts Andy about it causing Andy to come after Melinda. With the help of the people who do believe in her, Melinda must learn to speak again and stand up for herself.
Critical Evaluation:
Speak is a fairly loyal movie adaptation of the book, but it does seem as if something is lost in the translation. Though Melinda is an endearing character in both the book and the movie, it’s impossible to include all of her wit, charm, pain, and fear in the screen version. However, Kristin Stewart does an excellent job conveying it as well as is possible. The story is sad without being overly maudlin and it does include several moments of humor. The ending is uplifting and empowering; it is an aspect of the book that was able to be adapted well for the screen.
Speak has a message that goes beyond the surface story of speaking up about a rape. It shows the difficulty and importance of gaining the courage to speak up for yourself in any situation. This is a wonderful message for teenagers in general and young girls specifically. The book has proven to have a large positive impact on its readers and the move is sure to do the same.
Annotation:
After a traumatic experience at a party the summer before, Melinda begins her freshman year of high school as an outcast who has stopped speaking.
Director Information:
Jessica Sharzer was born October 26, 1972 in Iowa City, Iowa. She attended Wesleyan University for her undergraduate education. She then received an M.A. from Berkeley and an M.F.A. in film from New York University.
She began her career in 1998 and has worked in almost all aspects of the film business, other than acting. She began directing short films in 2000. Speak has been her only feature length directorial project. She also wrote the screenplay for the movie.
Genre:
Movie: Drama
Curriculum Ties:
Art: Therapeutic Value of Art
Psychology: Sexual Assault Victim Mentality, Rape Recovery
Health/Sex Ed: Healthy Relationships, Healthy Sexual Contact
Movie Talking Ideas:
- Present as Melinda talking about losing her ability to speak.
- Focus on the opening scene of the movie.
- Focus on the rape survivor aspect and speaking up.
Interest Age:
13 and older
Challenge Issues:
Rape
Inappropriate language
Challenge Defense Ideas:
- Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
- If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
- Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
- Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.
Reasons for Selection:
I've read the book, but I was unaware there was a movie until hearing about the challenge against it in Republic, MO. I decided I wanted to see if the movie was a fair representation of the book.
