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(More customer reviews)"Speak" tells the story of a girl, Melinda Sordino (Kristen Stewart), who made it through the end of the difficult middle school years as one of the popular girls. She does not appear to be conceited or stuck up; she's only just a girl who enjoys the fact that she and her girlfriends are well thought of and the center of the social scene. That all changes for Melinda at a summer party thrown at a friends house where she gets friendly with a popular high school jock only to be shockingly date raped by him. In her shock after the rape, Melinda tries to call the police from the party house, but that just leads to the cops showing up and breaking up the party and getting a lot of Melinda's friends in trouble. Not knowing why Melinda really called the police leads her group of friends, especially her best friend Rachel (Hallee Hirsch) to ostracize her in the way that kids that age lash out at anything that they don't understand and challenges their socially accepted norms. Melinda is also hindered by the fact that her parents, despite clearly loving her, are too caught up in their own issues to recognize that their daughter just underwent a tremendous trauma.
When high school begins that fall, Melinda selectively chooses to remain a mute while enduring the hateful behaviors of her former friends (including Rachel, who is now dating the guy that raped Melinda). Yet, slowly, through finding herself through an art class with and an art teacher (Steve Zahn) that truly inspire her, Melinda manages to recover and find a new sense of self and confidence and even resolution to the events that have plagued her.
"Speak" has all the makings of a typical after school special that is rife with pretentiousness and pat resolutions. Yet, it manages to transcend that genre and make for a truly moving film. The performance of Kristen Stewart and, to a lesser extent, Steve Zahn, is truly remarkable. Zahn is a known quantity in Hollywood and his performance as art teacher, Mr. Freeman, is full of the pathos we've come to expect from him. Stewart, who was only 13 when she filmed this role, is simply stunning. She took a role that actress three times her would find daunting and, not only fulfilled it, but so thoroughly mastered it, that she made it her own.
It's ironic that Stewart played Jodie Foster's daughter in the hit thriller "Panic Room", because she evokes memories of a Jodie Foster from 30 years ago. Stewart has the same physical look and mannerisms and definitely shows the potential to have the same acting talent. I look forward to seeing more films starring Kristen Stewart. I think she will turn out to be a real Hollywood gem and, anyone who has seen "Speak", will remember the exact moment when Kristen Stewart gave notice that she had arrived.
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Based on the award winning novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, "Speak" unfolds a story about Melinda (Kristen Stewart), a smart and spirited high school freshman who retreats into self-imposed silence after she is raped one night at a party. Feeling isolated from her classmates and from her preoccupied mother Joyce Sardnino (Elizabeth Perkins), Melinda retreats further in an attempt to escape the torments of high school. It is only through her work in art class with the help of her compassionate art teacher Mr. Freeman (Steve Zahn) that she begins to reach out to others and eventually finds her own voice and inner strength. A feature debut of director/co-writer Jessica Sharzer, "Speak" resonates with stubborn honesty and sardonic humor as we follow Melinda on her journey from traumatized isolation to a brave and final triumphant disclosure.
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