Speak (film)
| Speak | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Jessica Sharzer |
| Produced by | Fred Berner Matthew Myers Annie Young Frisbie Jessica Sharzer |
| Screenplay by | Jessica Sharzer Annie Young Frisbie |
| Based on |
Novel: Laurie Halse Anderson |
| Starring |
Kristen Stewart Michael Angarano Robert John Burke Eric Lively Elizabeth Perkins D. B. Sweeney Steve Zahn |
| Music by | Christopher Libertino |
| Cinematography | Andrij Parekh |
| Edited by | Mark Bennett Billy Hopkins |
| Distributed by | Showtime Networks Inc. |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Speak is a 2004 American independent drama based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson. It stars 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 after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
15-year-old Melinda Sordino (Kristen Stewart) starts out her freshman year in high school and struggles on the first day. She doesn't have any friends to hang out with and appears awkward and uncomfortable when speaking to others. Throughout the day, she is made fun of by several students, repeatedly called a "squealer". A series of flashbacks reveal that she called the police at a house party during the previous summer. Her real reason for calling 9-1-1 was that she was raped at the party by a senior student, Andy Evans (Eric Lively), but while on the phone, she was unable to talk to the police about what happened, and when the police arrived, she did not report the rape and went home instead. The party was crashed, causing mayhem and everyone to flee from the police.
When her parents see her report card, they prompt her to see Mr. Neck (Robert John Burke), who tells her to write an essay on any history topic. After refusing to read her paper aloud to her class, she gets sent to the office of the school principal. Melinda is nice to a new student named Heather Billings (Allison Siko), who claims to be Melinda's "friend", but Heather soon 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 avoid affiliating himself with a clique.
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