TOPSY-TURVY A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Perform without benefit of a corset? Scandalous!
For the latest Gilbert and Sullivan opera, the actors and actresses have been firmly instructed not to wear their corsets. None of them have ever gone on stage without a corset before, so pandemonium has set in.
TOPSY-TURVY, an homage to the business of show business and to Gilbert and Sullivan operas, is a surprising work by writer/director Mike Leigh, an intense filmmaker best known for edgy dramas like NAKED and SECRETS AND LIES. Set in London in 1884, TOPSY-TURVY takes us backstage as Gilbert and Sullivan work on perhaps their best known operetta, "The Mikado."
As William Schwenk Gilbert, Jim Broadbent gives an endearing performance as a successful and driven man who resented the critics and his being the lesser talent of the Gilbert and Sullivan team. Critics would predict great success for their works and then go on to ridicule their artistic abilities. Gilbert was referred to in one review as "the King of Topsy-Turvydom," which wounded his pride deeply.
In a lesser performance, Allan Corduner plays Arthur Sullivan as somewhat of an enigma. "You're a genius," Gilbert says to Sullivan. "I merely bask in your reflecting glory." But Corduner gives us little appreciation of Sullivan's actual gifts. That he had higher aspirations than Gilbert is made apparent but little more.
The film's momentum suffers greatly from Leigh's proclivity to include such extraneous material as dentist visits and to let some scenes run on for what seems an eternity. If you don't like Gilbert and Sullivan operas, imagine how painful having long passages read aloud will be.
All the picture's production sins, and they are many, are eventually redeemed as you become part of the show. By the end you'll feel like you've signed on to sing in the chorus. And when there's a revolt on stage to come to the aid of a member of the company, you'll want to join the protest.
Filmed by Dick Pope in garish colors, the movie makes Gilbert and Sullivan's style of comedic opera look attractive and funny. The opera as kitsch was something that Gilbert himself was unclear about. He describes "The Mikado" as "not grand opera but low burlesque." But soon afterwards, he says, "This is not low burlesque. This is an entirely new Japanese opera." Whatever it was, he certainly poured his heart and soul into it. Yet, he wasn't happy. In depression after the opera's triumph, he laments to his wife, "there's something inherently disappointing about success."
Among the film's small delights are Leigh's fascination with the scientific instruments of the time and their effect on the operation of an opera company. From the telephone to the "reservoir pen" to the special effects, each contributes in it's own way to the opera's production. Even cryptography has its place when competing companies need to keep their box office revenues secret from snooping telephone operators.
Nothing, however, can make up for the fact that the movie is a full hour too long. Films like this almost make you wish for a dastardly studio executive to seize the print and cut it down to the proper size. Movie after movie this holiday season feels as bloated as a diner after a big Christmas dinner. Even with its excesses, however, TOPSY-TURVY is a good-spirited and intriguing behind-the-scenes look at a stage production and is worth seeing.
TOPSY-TURVY runs 2:40. It is rated R for a scene of risqué nudity and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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