#Speak (2004) dir. Jessica Sharzer

[thottybrucewayne]

The category is: movies that are really good but are so so soooooo hard for me to watch

[odd-film-stills]

“ It happened. There’s no avoiding it. No forgetting.”

Speak 2004 dir. Jessica Sharzer

[karolpilberg]

Speak (2004) dir. Jessica Sharzer

[yestcheaven]

speak (2004) dir. jessica sharzer

[wegog]

Speak (2004) dir. Jessica Sharzer

Kristen Stewart as Melinda Sordino  

[jerichopalms]

#154: Speak (2004, dir. by Jessica Sharzer)

[folditdouble]

Women in Film Challenge 2020: [28/52] Speak, dir. Jessica Sharzer (USA, 2004)

You can't speak up for your rights and be silent.

[arianagrands]

Speak (2004) dir. Jessica Sharzer

[randompieceofcheese]

Speak (2004) Dir. Jessica Sharzer

[gyllenhey]

Speak (2004) dir. Jessica Sharzer

[tigermousse]

Speak (2004) dir. Jessica Sharzer I just noticed she’s holding a pencil like me in my early school years

[odd-film-stills]

“ I wonder how long it would take for anyone to notice if I just stopped talking.”

Speak 2004 dir. Jessica Sharzer

[lifejustgotawkward]

365 Day Movie Challenge (2017) - #22: Speak (2004) - dir. Jessica Sharzer (52 Films by Women 2017: #4)

I don’t know how many young people are still asked to read the Laurie Halse Anderson novel Speak in junior high or high school, but I did when I was in 8th grade, back in 2005-2006. As an introverted thirteen-year-old girl, I identified with protagonist Melinda Sordino‘s difficulties with expressing herself at an age when girls’ bodies, minds and understanding of human interaction start to change; it was easy to care about the character, a survivor of sexual assault who spends most of the story dealing with the trauma on her own but eventually learns to trust people again and share her pain. Although I haven’t read the novel in over a decade, most of the characters and plot points were as memorable as if I had read the book within the past year. This both helps and hurts Jessica Sharzer’s adaptation of Speak, which benefits from a superb lead performance by Kristen Stewart as Melinda and some powerful cinematography by Andrij Parekh, but which also waters down other characters and narrative elements enough to adversely affect the end result.

I don’t usually connect with the acting that Kristen Stewart has done as an adult; it always come off as cold and distant. In Speak, however, she was exceptional for a thirteen-year-old actress, capturing the complex emotions of Melinda incredibly well considering that so much of the film requires her to say little or be silent. Where the film falters, however, is in the scenes with Steve Zahn as rebellious art teacher Mr. Freeman; I recall the character being a lot more likeable in the novel. I also dislike the changes that Jessica Sharzer made to the ending, dulling some of the impact that Laurie Halse Anderson originally wrote for the last scene with Melinda and Mr. Freeman and also the rest of the scenes that conclude the story at school and with Melinda’s parents at home. The actors did their best to bring conviction to the roles, though, and I appreciate the supporting work done by Elizabeth Perkins, Hallee Hirsh, Allison Siko, Robert John Burke, Michael Angarano, D.B. Sweeney and Leslie Lyles.

[odd-film-stills]

“When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time. You'd be shocked at how many adults are really dead inside—walking through their days with no idea who they are, just waiting for a heart attack or cancer or a Mack truck to come along and finish the job. It's the saddest thing I know.” 

Speak 2004 dir. Jessica Sharzer

[odd-film-stills]

  “All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.”

Speak 2004 dir. Jessica Sharzer  

[odd-film-stills]

“ It happened. There’s no avoiding it. No forgetting.”

Speak 2004 dir. Jessica Sharzer