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TOPSY-TURVY Send This Review to a Friend
Writer-director Mike Leigh's sumptuous, unusual film "Topsy Turvy," a highlight of the 1999 New York Film Festival, dramatizes the lives of Gilbert and Sullivan and their staging of "The Mikado," complete with delightful details about backstage maneuvering and egos. Versatile actor Jim Broadbent gives one of the year's finest performances as librettist William Schwenck Gilbert, and so does Allan Corduner playing Arthur Sullivan, the composer of the team. Leigh captures the flavor of the 19th century period in which they wrote, and better yet, offers a look at the rehearsals and actors negotiating for salaries from Richard D'Oyly Carte, slyly played by Ron Cook. There are rampant clashes and manipulations, all very entertaining and often poignant.
In one hilarious sequence Japanese women who seem to understand little of what's happening are called in to demonstrate to the actresses playing the Three Little Maids of "The Mikado" how to walk. The actual production of the operetta at the Savoy Theatre becomes a major portion of the film, and the result should thrill fans of Gilbert and Sullivan as well as those who like a good, rich film-going experience. "Topsy-Turvy" not only is appealing as an entry into the world of the renowned team that created works widely performed to this day, but as a colorful, musical entertainment revealing an awareness of the social and economic factors in the theater of that era.
The film provides a sad note as well in its close-up of the respective lives of Gilbert and Sullivan, portraying Gilbert's marriage as lacking sexuality and his wife as lonely, and showing Sullivan in a relationship with his mistress, who indicates to him that she is pregnant but that she is taking care of it once more. The intimate moments sensitively bracket the glimpse into artists at work.
Mike Leigh, who created such films as "Secrets and Lies" and "High Hopes," is known for working out his films in sessions with his actors rather than relying on pre-written scripts. He says that this film evolved in his customary pattern, which is hard to believe, given its elaborate nature. But perhaps that is why, in contrast to many film musicals, "Topsy-Turvy" possesses such a sense of reality. Among the many outstanding performances is that of Timothy Spall as the actor Richard Temple, who is saddened when a major number is to be cut, a decision by Gilbert that results in members of the cast demanding that the song be restored. Other standouts include Shirley Henderson, Dorothy Atkinson, Martin Savage, and Lesley Manville.
The production design by Eve Stewart, the costumes by Lindy Hemming and the cinematography by Dick Pope combine to make "Topsy-Turvy" one of the most eye-pleasing films you are likely to encounter. The cast members are all said to have done their own singing, whether solo or choral. Sony Classical has released the soundtrack on CD. A USA Films release.
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