Speak (film)

Speak
Film poster
Directed by	Jessica Sharzer
Produced by	Fred Berner Matthew Myers Annie Young Frisbie Jessica Sharzer
Written by	Laurie Halse Anderson (novel) Jessica Sharzer (screenplay) Annie Young Frisbie (screenplay)
Starring	Kristen Stewart Robert John Burke Eric Lively Elizabeth Perkins D. B. Sweeney Steve Zahn
Music by	Christopher Libertino
Distributed by	Showtime Networks Inc.
Release date(s)	January 20, 2004
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Speak is a 2004 American independent film based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson. It stars a then 13-year-old Kristen Stewart as Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman who practically stops talking after being raped by a senior student. The film is told through Melinda's eyes and is wrought with her sardonic humor and blunt honesty. It was broadcast on Showtime and Lifetime in 2005.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Reception 4 Differences from the novel 5 References 6 External links

Plot

Melinda Sordino (Kristen Stewart) starts out her freshman year in high school being labeled a "squealer" for calling the police to a house party the previous summer at Kyle Rodger's, the brother of Randi Rodger (Caitlyn Folley). Her real reason for calling 9-1-1 was that she was raped at the party by a senior, Andy Evans (Eric Lively).

Melinda has been so traumatized by her rape that she cannot find the words to tell anybody what happened to her and becomes mute. Melinda is shunned by her friends from 8th grade, Nicole (Tyanna Rolley), Ivy (Megan Pillar), her best friend Rachel Bruin (Hallee Hirsh), and is forced to deal with social rejection.

Melinda is unable to tell her parents about the experience, and although her parents notice a change in their daughter, (as well as her grades) they are unable to determine the cause. Her mother, Joyce (Elizabeth Perkins), is overworked and too busy to extract more than one-word answers from Melinda. Her father, Jack (D. B. Sweeney), is struggling with unemployment and also has little time to devote to his troubled daughter.

Although Melinda does not speak to many people in the film, she has plenty of thoughts that are often filled with sardonic humor. In addition to Melinda's social problems, her teachers are insufferable. Mr. Neck (Robert John Burke), constantly bullies Melinda, and her English teacher, only referred to as "Hair Woman" (Leslie Lyles), refuses to make eye contact with students. Melinda's difficulty in talking to other students and her teachers consequently results in her grades plummeting, compared to her last year.

When her parents see her report card, they prompt her to see Mr Neck, who tells her to write an essay on any history topic. When failing to read this aloud to her class, she gets sent to the office of the school principal (Tony Roseboro). Melinda is nice to a new student named Heather Billings (Allison Siko), who claims to be Melinda's "friend," but Heather abandons Melinda when the chance for social advancement arises. The only other student with whom Melinda has a positive experience is her lab partner Dave Petrakis (Michael Angarano), who has successfully managed to keep from affiliating himself with a clique.

Melinda's high point each day comes in her art class taught by a free-spirited teacher named Mr. Freeman (Steve Zahn). He 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.

As the year progresses, Melinda begins a painfully slow recapture of her confidence, with some help from Dave and Mr. Freeman. Rachel starts dating Andy, (the boy who raped Melinda), and as the only other person who knows about the event, Melinda fears that Rachel will suffer the same fate. Melinda finds Rachel at the library and tells her the truth about what happened at the party by writing it on paper.

Though at first Rachel doesn't believe her, calling Melinda jealous of her and Andy, Rachel does eventually confront Andy about the accusations, and word gets out about the rape. Upon hearing this Andy becomes angry, breaks up with Rachel and goes to confront Melinda. She first stands up to Mr. Neck and her (social-climbing) "friend" Heather. On the last day, Andy finds her in her closet while she is packing up, threatening and beating her.

In fear of her life, Melinda fights back and is able to subdue him by splashing aerosol chemicals from a jug into his eyes, blinding him. Soon after, the commotion catches the attention of a few members of the girls' field hockey team, including Nicole, who just happened to walk by the closet and then confront Andy, seeing that Melinda has overpowered him, with a glass shard to his neck.

On the way back from the hospital after being treated for her injuries, Melinda rolls down the window of the car, breathing in deeply. She finally finds the strength to tell her mother the truth about what happened at the party. Although it is clear that Melinda will still need time to fully recover from her ordeals, this is a significant and empowering event in her life, as she finally finds the courage to speak.

Production

Producer and screenwriter Annie Young Frisbie read the novel and successfully made a bid to get the rights to a film version. Production took place in Columbus, Ohio because a production partner, Matthew Myers, was relocating there with his wife.

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. Anderson herself cameos in the film as the lunch lady who gives Melinda the mashed potatoes.

The school scenes for the movie were shot at Eastmoor Academy on the east side of Columbus.

Reception

The New York Times was skeptical of the film. Though reviewer Neil Genzlinger praised the work of Stewart and Steve Zahn, he concluded that, overall, the cast was populated with "dismaying caricature[s], so much so that it costs the movie some credibility," and that the film "comes nowhere near capturing the wise, subtle tone of the book."^[1]

Differences from the novel

• In the novel, Melinda meets Heather when Heather finds a seat in the auditorium. In the film, they meet on the bus. The auditorium scene is cut altogether.
• Melinda does not get a ride home from Mr. Freeman when it is harsh outside, nor does she skip school in the winter.
• At the end of the novel, Melinda speaks to Mr. Freeman about her being raped, whereas in the movie, she tells Joyce about it.
• In the novel, Andy tries to rape Melinda a second time, whereas in the film, he physically assaults her instead.
• In the novel and film, Melinda was hit by mashed potatoes in the cafeteria on the first day. However, the book describes that this was an accident, while the film portrays it to be blatantly done on purpose.
• The film mentions the story taking place somewhere in the Midwest. The novel takes place in Syracuse, Anderson's hometown.
• In the novel, she is raped outside in the trees at the party. In the film, she is raped in Andy's car. This was changed because Kristen Stewart had an allergic reaction to grass during the shoot.
• In the novel, Melinda spends much more time with Heather, including accompanying her to her modeling shoots which makes her feel bad about her appearance, and by helping Heather with Martha projects during her "trial" period for the clan. Melinda lets Heather take all the credit for the projects to look better in the eyes of the Marthas, but later on, as in the film, refuses to help Heather decorate for prom when she's left in a lurch.
• In the book, Melinda first tries to send an anonymous letter to Rachel about Andy, saying to be careful, because he "attacked a ninth-grader last year." Rachel, confused and angry, ignores the letter. In the film, Melinda skips straight to telling Rachel in person.
• The film downplays Melinda's surprising talent for tennis, which becomes a much bigger deal in the book than in the movie.
• The film gets rid of the David Petrakis/Mr. Neck subplot, reducing it to a single scene of protest in the first class of the year. In the novel, the war between Petrakis and Mr. Neck goes on throughout the book and eventually involves surveillance of Mr. Neck's lectures, formal complaints to the principal, and the threat of lawsuit. This helps inspire Melinda towards her suffragette protest as well as her potential attraction towards David Petrakis.
• In the novel, Melinda begins cutting classes at a donut shop and then the mall. Her class-cutting becomes a habit, eventually leading her to the hospital where she experiments in different waiting rooms to kill time, before having a sobering moment in which she realizes the inappropriateness of it all. In the movie, Melinda cuts class once, going straight to the hospital.
• In the novel, Melinda speaks less, and therefore the story takes place almost entirely in her head. The film does away with the constant narration.
• In the book, when Andy tries to rape Melinda a second time, she holds a shard of broken glass up to his neck and says "I said no," but never actually hurts him. In the movie, she uses the glass shard and throws aerosol in his eyes.
• In the film, all that Melinda writes on the bathroom stall is about the "exchange students ruining the country," whereas in the book, she writes about Andy Evans and other girls add to the (her) writing.
• In the film, Ivy hangs out with the Marthas; she doesn't in the book.
• In the film, Mr. Freeman leaves at the end of the school year. In the book he stays at the school.

References

External links

• Speak at the Internet Movie Database