TOPSY-TURVY (1999) / *** 1/2
Directed by Mike Leigh. Screenplay by Leigh. Starring Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Ron Cook. Running time: 160 minutes. Rated AA for nude scenes. Reviewed on March 22nd, 2000.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Is there a historical era with which the movie screen seems more in love than the Victorian? I tend to doubt it; no other time in history is portrayed with more style, more panache than the late nineteenth century, and "Topsy-Turvy" is no exception. Indeed, with its concentration on the colorful world of theatre, writer/director Mike Leigh's latest movie is even more visually sumptuous than many other Victorian-era films. Combined with the wit and music of Gilbert and Sullivan, "Topsy-Turvy" is a real treat for the eyes and ears.
As the movie opens, William Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) and Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner) have enjoyed a successful and profitable partnership for more than two decades. Gilbert writes the stories, Sullivan composes the music, and to this point they have enjoyed nothing but popular acclaim. However, their latest opera, "Princess Ida", has been received lukewarmly at best by critics and audience alike. To make matters worse, Sullivan has grown weary of what he calls Gilbert's "world of Topsy-Turvy-dom": he wants to write a grand opera with a more human, more emotional scope than the likes of "The Pirates of Penzance" or "HMS Pinafore". He feels Gilbert's ideas have grown repetitive and refuses to score his new plot, a blatant rip-off of a previous collaboration, "The Sorcerer".
With no end to the impasse in sight and the fate of the Savoy Theatre, run by Richard D'Oyly Carte (Ron Cook), at stake, Gilbert's wife Kitty (Lesley Manville) drags him to an exhibition of Japanese culture. Impressed by the vastly foreign culture, he purchases a samurai sword to hang on his wall as a souvenir. When it nearly falls on his head one night, Gilbert is inspired to write "The Mikado". The team of Gilbert and Sullivan appears to have another success on its hands -- but only if the opera actually makes it to the stage!
"Topsy-Turvy" can be more or less evenly divided into two acts. The first deals with the imminent dissolution of Gilbert and Sullivan's partnership and the struggles of their confreres to persuade one or both of the stubborn pair to give in. It is interesting enough, but feels somewhat meandering. These sequences do a good job of establishing the principal characters and the tribulations of Victorian theatre, but are rather lacking in incident and the whole thing basically just goes on too long. "Topsy-Turvy" clocks in at more than two and a half hours, and I think it would have been better served by shaving some time off this first half.
Far better is the second act, in which "The Mikado" goes into production. We are privy to all the details of the theatre business -- line readings, costume fittings, orchestra rehearsals, and so on, but done in such an entertaining manner as to avoid tedium. Of particular interest, we are witness to the clashes of ego and the hints of scandal which envelop the play's cast and crew. It is here that Leigh's already fine script really shines -- a scene where the actresses from the "Three Little Maids" segment practise in front of real Japanese women is a highlight. The dialogue and pacing in this act is excellent. Unlike the first half of the movie, nothing is dwelt on for too long and as a result there is a real energy to these latter scenes. There is also a great deal of humor in "Topsy-Turvy", and fortunately it arises naturally from the circumstances rather than being grafted onto the script. The theatre is a funny and bizarre enough environment without being exaggerated, and Leigh is well aware of this fact.
Performances from the cast are uniformly excellent, with Broadbent a standout as Gilbert. He does a particularly good job portraying the playwright's moody disposition, sometimes appearing both jolly and dour at the same time. Scenes like one in which he leads a read-through of "The Mikado" with a bemused, shorthanded cast really show off the depth of Broadbent's performance. He is funny without descending into caricature.
Corduner is very good as Sullivan, but isn't given quite the same breadth of material to work with. Much is made of his desire to branch out into more serious opera, but his characterization doesn't extend far beyond that. For example, whereas Gilbert has some great scenes with his wife filled with both humor and emotion, Sullivan's scenes with his paramour are more sedate. I never felt we got to know Sullivan the way we did Gilbert. Ultimately, Corduner's performance is simply less passionate and more functional, and ends up being overshadowed by Broadbent.
The rest of the cast is solid in their supporting roles. While these may seem incidental to the movie as a whole, characters such as a leading lady with a sordid past and a sickly actor with a drug problem really make "Topsy-Turvy" feel complete. This is not just a movie about William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, but about a Gilbert and Sullivan production, cast and crew included. It is in presenting these details that Leigh really sparkles. He does not focus on them, but rather serves them up for the consumption of the viewer, to be digested or ignored at will. They are not so much subplots in of themselves, but just further complications along the road to opening night.
Of course, the real star of any movie about Gilbert and Sullivan is the music, and "Topsy-Turvy" does not disappoint. In addition to a number of pieces from "The Mikado", the movie also includes selections from "The Sorcerer" and "Princess Ida", all lavishly presented on a beautifully-designed stage setting.
"Topsy-Turvy" is a lot of fun, especially for those with something of an appreciation for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Even if you're not well-acquainted with their operas, the movie serves as an excellent introduction to them, and provides an enthralling glimpse into the hectic and complicated world of theatre. The movie's lengthy running time does work against it, but it is otherwise extremely well crafted. Here is a film that ably demonstrates that, even after a century, Gilbert and Sullivan's world of Topsy-Turvy-dom has never lost its appeal.
Copyright © 2000 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/TopsyTurvy.html
-- _______________________________________________________________________ / Shannon Patrick Sullivan | "We are all in the gutter, but some of us \ | | are looking at the stars." | \ shannon@morgan.ucs.mun.ca | -- Oscar Wilde /
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