Speak Movie Analysis

The movie Speak was a very powerful movie that teenagers may benefit from watching. The main character in the movie is Melinda Sordino portrayed by Kristen Stewart. When starting high school Melinda feels a great sense of rejection and practically becomes mute. Her so-called “friends” won’t talk to her because of an event that occurred at a house party over the summer and she doesn’t have a close relationship with her mother (Elizabeth Perkins). The only support she gets is from her art teacher, Mr. Freeman (Steve Zahn) and her science partner, David Petrakis (Michael Angarano). Heather (Allison Siko) was initially portrayed as her friend, but we learn over the course of the movie that she is self-centered. As time passes, Melinda begins to deal with the trauma and finds both her voice and happiness. I enjoyed watching the movie but because I had already read the book there was no surprise. I was waiting for everything as it happened. While watching the movie I was a little disappointed in the acting of Kristen Stewart. I know Melinda is supposed to be depressed and emotionless, but I didn’t feel any sympathy while watching the acting of Ms. Stewart. Instead of looking depressed, she was just emotionless. It felt bland… until the ending. That was the best part of the movie. Melinda finally gained enough confidence to stand up to Andy Evans

For instance, at the beginning of the movie when Melinda painted “stitches” over her mouth. That was a brilliant thing to add because it portrayed her feeling as though she needed to be silent. I also really liked the portrayal of Mr. Freeman. He was my favorite character in the book and I liked him even more in the movie. The scene where she reveals her tree drawings and his reaction really touched me. The girl that portrayed Heather (Allison Siko) did a nice job. Heather is a “typical airhead” and Ms. Siko really demonstrated