Sunday, February 17, 2008

A Veiled Tell: Nil Soli - 2/17/2008

Speak (2004)

JTH and I watched the movie Speak tonight. The film, an adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson’s book of the same name, originally aired as a television movie in 2004. It stars Kristen Stewart, who has starred in the more recently released In the Land of Women and The Messengers. JTH was drawn to the film by Stewart and I was drawn to its having been featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

The premise of the film is a look at the freshman year of a girl named Melinda Sordino (Stewart) after a traumatic, misunderstood experience over the summer. Watching the character gradually regain her voice throughout the film is powerful.

Kristen Stewart carries the film wonderfully. The script is structured in such a way that it lives and dies with her and she thrives. This is especially impressive considering how much she must convey without the benefit of dialogue and the fact that she was thirteen years old when the movie was filmed. The supporting cast is also good. Steve Zahn is especially endearing as Stewart’s concerned art teacher.

Much like In the Land of Women Kristen Stewart’s character has great artistic ability. Is there a real life interest there?

Both JTH and I loved the film and when two opinions as diverse as ours agree on a film, it is quite the endorsement.

Current IMDB rating: 8.0/10. Chanalysis: 8/10

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