Details
Movie Description
Director Mike Leigh's high-minded telling of the story of legendary musical team Gilbert & Sullivan is one of the director's most thorough, highly ambitious efforts. Concentrating mainly on the tumultuous period just before the conception and production of the pair's THE MIKADO (first staged in 1885), Leigh's film rings true with an authenticity that transports the audience back to Victorian England with remarkable ease. Leigh, who comes from an extensive theater background, researched this period in English history exhaustively, from etiquette to the costumes to the production numbers. Both Jim Broadbent (as the negative-minded William Schwenk Gilbert) and Allan Corduner (as the "genius," Arthur Sullivan) deliver impassioned, entirely believable performances, as do the supporting players--particularly Kevin McKidd, Lesley Manville, and Leigh regular Timothy Spall. Notably different from the director's previous brutally realistic, modern day examinations (such as NAKED and SECRETS AND LIES), Leigh's film bears genuine affection for the work of Gilbert & Sullivan, which shines through in every frame. Successfully blending comedy, music, historical drama, and human emotion, TOPSY-TURVY proves that Leigh is not just a brilliant chronicler of modern class conflicts in England; he is a thorough, sensitive filmmaker with a tight grasp on the human condition.
Synopsis
TOPSY-TURVY is director Mike Leigh's entertaining tribute to theater pioneers Gilbert & Sullivan. The tale focuses mainly on their production of THE MIKADO from 1885, with Leigh's obvious affection for their work evident in every immaculate scene.
Film Notes
Theatrical release: December 15, 1999.
Shot on location in England.
TOPSY-TURVY is director Mike Leigh's first period piece, after dealing solely with modern day critiques of the English working class.
Philip French of The Guardian (U.K.) named TOPSY-TURVY one of the top ten films of 2000.
Industry Reviews
"...[A] beautifully crafted and lively romp..."
Variety - p.64 - Deborah Young
Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's "Ten Best Movies of 1999" -- "A touching masterwork about the art of making art..."
Rolling Stone - p.63-4 - Peter Travers
"...Beautiful to look at...as funny as it is poignant, TOPSY-TURVY boasts a handful of great supporting turns..."
Total Film - p.71 - Ceri Thomas
"...What a merry revelation -- one of the year's best movies and certainly its most delightful screen surprise..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (12/17/1999)
"...The performances cut deeper than usual for costume films, and the actors once again seem to literally become who they're playing. That's especially true with the intense, captivating work done by Allan Corduner as Sullivan and Leigh veteran Jim Broadbent as Gilbert..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (12/15/1999)
"...Gloriously entertaining....TOPSY-TURVY is about love of the theater....It is one of the year's best films..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (01/21/2000)
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