Topsy-Turvy (1999)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Anthony L

  
  I remember reading an interview with Mike Leigh about Topsy-Turvy. He had been quite successful universally with Secrets & Lies and found himself in a position that he had enough money and support to indulge himself in a life-long dream of making a film about Gilbert and Sullivan.… More
  I remember reading an interview with Mike Leigh about Topsy-Turvy. He had been quite successful universally with Secrets & Lies and found himself in a position that he had enough money and support to indulge himself in a life-long dream of making a film about Gilbert and Sullivan. Indulge he does. The budget is quite obviously bigger than he's used to and the feel of this film isn't quite what you'd expect from the director but saying that, it's as good. The indulgence doesn't just end with the director, this is a joy from beginning to end, the performances are brilliant and the script is hilarious. I can't recommend this enough, even to people who may not care for Leigh's usual film style. It is a crime that it wasn't nominated for more than it was and didn't win what it was nominated for (apart from 2 Oscars for make-up and costume design).

• Cassandra M

  
  Mike Leigh would not be the first name that springs to mind when presented with a biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan. Possibly Anthony Minghella, or maybe Ang Lee, but never a director only known for gritty, unremittingly depressing working-class drama. However, in… More
  Mike Leigh would not be the first name that springs to mind when presented with a biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan. Possibly Anthony Minghella, or maybe Ang Lee, but never a director only known for gritty, unremittingly depressing working-class drama. However, in 'Topsy-Turvy', Leigh has not only directed, but written, a fine piece of period comedy-drama. Leigh, it transpires, has always loved Gilbert and Sullivan and the love shows in his highly polished script. It not only exploits the music and words of the great nineteenth-century operettists but retains a feeling for the wit of their work throughout. W.S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) is more than annoyed at suggestions that he is becoming unoriginal and Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner) rather tired with working with him. He wants to produce great music and is uninspired by Gilbert's latest libretto. A chance visit to an exhibition of Japanese customs and produce stimulates Gilbert to write 'The Mikado', one of his most witty works (and, it seems, Leigh's favourite). After a lengthy vacation, Sullivan is willing to write the accompanying music and rehearsals begin. This is where Leigh's brilliance as both writer and director shines through, creating enormously entertaining and dramatic scenes while underlining the partners' unceasing perfectionism. A cast full of Leigh regulars, headed by the dreaming Corduner and wonderfully cantankerous Broadbent, are marvellous, with Timothy Spall and Kevin McKidd stealing the show as a pair of complete 'luvvy' actors. It is Shirley Henderson (also excellent in Michael Winterbottom's 'Wonderland') who gives the film a real emotional centre, however, as a widowed actress slowly turning to drink. Leigh's past, it seems, has not entirely been left behind.

• Daniel M

  
  When a director you love goes out on a limb, it often ends in tears, particularly if their chosen vanity project is a musical. Martin Scorsese and Stephen Frears both wobbled when their minds turned to music; both New York, New York and Mrs. Henderson Presents lack the obsessive craft… More
  When a director you love goes out on a limb, it often ends in tears, particularly if their chosen vanity project is a musical. Martin Scorsese and Stephen Frears both wobbled when their minds turned to music; both New York, New York and Mrs. Henderson Presents lack the obsessive craft and flourish we expect from these directors. And that's not to mention At Long Last Love, Peter Bogdanovich's atrocious Cole Porter homage, which is so bad that it has never been released on home video. But then of course, Mike Leigh has never been one to follow the herd. Topsy-Turvy, about the partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan surrounding the writing of The Mikado, is as far removed from his 'ordinary' subject matter as one can humanly conceive. Yet it remains a quintessentially Mike Leigh film in its meticulous focus on characters and the absence of anything which feels false or contrived. Like all of Leigh's films, Topsy-Turvy is centrally a rich character study. He never starts with a script, preferring to improvise scenes with the actors, plotting out the course of the characters in terms of their relationships with others, and then creating stories out of this. His films are less concerned with moving the plot forward than with exploring how relationships change in the face of adversity, which helps to explain both the long running time and the incredible attachment you feel towards the people on screen. Leigh is not the most disciplined director around, and there are certain moments which either don't belong at all or which should have been tightened up. Many of these are of scenes running on too long, like Gilbert's unnecessary chat with his father. But the weirdest of these moments comes about 20 minutes in. We find Sullivan in a French brothel, watching a dance by two topless women, while in the background a man eerily resembling Ralph Fiennes is playing the piano and singing falsetto. It's a really strange scene which makes you wonder where all of this is heading. Fortunately of us, there is very little about Topsy-Turvy which is either confusing or irritating. The film in general is a delight, combining a series of wonderful performances with a meticulous period setting and a strong score fully integrated into the action. It manages to get the audience interested in a subject matter which is more at home in historical papers or making-of documentaries. What we get in this film is the relationships between a host of interesting and highly personal characters, and an insight into all the little struggles involved behind the scenes in a theatre production. An even bigger coup is to take music which many people consider toe-curling and turn it into an exciting spectacle. The origin of the music is carefully explored, bound up in both the struggle between Gilbert and Sullivan and in the nature of Victorian society. By giving us an insight into the rich language of the well-to-dos before a single note has been sung, Leigh situates the music in an historically specific context. It is a subtle argument that each piece of music is perfectly suited only to the time and place in which it is created; what was once visionary is now cheesy and twee. What we are seeing here is not modern actors reinterpreting old hat; we are witnesses to an organic creative process which can never be properly replicated. This musical coup is bolstered by the realistic score. Allan Corduner, who plays Sullivan, seems to be genuinely playing the piano when he is required, and his conducting is not simply that of an actor waving his hands in a random direction with the intention of looking pompous. The entire orchestra appear to be playing their instruments and are captured masterfully by Carl Davis, who manages to give us the clarity of a modern recording while replicating the feeling of a orchestra pit. The film as a whole looks ravishing, thanks to Dick Pope's wonderful cinematography. The sets and costumes of the Savoy Theatre correspond largely to drawings and descriptions of the period, and the choreography is kept deliberately creaky to avoid any anachronisms. People may complain that you can do more with a fan than simply open and close it, but that was now the case on the stage of the 1880s. The point is that, as with the music, you feel genuinely transported to a different time and place, which is admirable even if that time and place is not to your personal taste. Don't think for one minute, however, that Mike Leigh has gone soft. It may all seem spiffing and whimsical on the surface, but there is a darkness to Topsy-Turvy which is trickier to spot. In amongst all the wonderful and hilarious scenes of actors bitching, we have glimpses of the darker side of Victorian life. The most obvious come towards the end, where Gilbert is accosted in the dark streets by a mad beggar, and we see an underdeveloped glimpse of Grossmith's heroin addiction. More subtle is the scene of collective, almost socialistic defiance when Temple's solo is cut by Gilbert; the entire chorus corner Gilbert the next day outside and convince him to re-instate it. Leigh is reminding us in these scenes not to be seduced by all the pretty colours and floral language. Like the music and the acting, we have to acknowledge their virtues as being historically specific. The film has a really great cast of much-loved British character actors. Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner are perfect as Gilbert and Sullivan, with the former being stubborn, volatile and yet strangely warm. Timothy Spall has never been better as Temple; his scenes with Kevin McKidd are simply to die for. They are laugh-out-loud funny, being both incredibly ostentatious and yet deeply moving. It's also the only film in which you'll get to see him dance around in a kimono with a feeler on his head. Elsewhere there are strong supporting roles from Ron Cook and Shirley Henderson, along with a sadly fleeting cameo from Alison Steadman. All the actors sing very well, and the film doesn't simply end in a predictable triumph. The series of revelations surrounding the abortion, Gilbert's marriage and the uncertainty of Henderson's character, pull us back into the real world after all the luvvie stuff has worn off. Leigh wants us to wonder what became of these people, deliberately leaving things open and giving us with limited information Topsy-Turvy is Mike Leigh at his most playful and whimsical, but as we have seen all the dark and classic elements of his work remain. It represents a broadening of his palette, perhaps proof to his critics that he could do more than present-day kitchen-sink dramas. This could be seen as the trial run to Vera Drake, but Topsy-Turvy deserves recognition in its own right. It aptly captures the world of the 1880s, marries it with Leigh's political sensibilities and so produces a highly interesting and entertaining period piece. It's too long, baggy, and certain sections will be too quaint for the full-blooded Trots among us. But it is still a fine achievement, and proof that musicals are not beyond the talents of the best directors.

• Stella D

  
  the marvelous backstage story of the creation of gilbert and sullivan's mikado. i'm not a fan of operetta, and it's certainly not for everyone, but i enjoyed the hell out of it. jim broadbent is a constant delight. if u like musicals or british costume drama check it… More
  the marvelous backstage story of the creation of gilbert and sullivan's mikado. i'm not a fan of operetta, and it's certainly not for everyone, but i enjoyed the hell out of it. jim broadbent is a constant delight. if u like musicals or british costume drama check it out

• Nate Z

  
  [font=Arial][color=darkred]Mike Leigh's latest might prove to be the old Brit's most daring and ambitious spectacle of memory. It's the tale of English muscial maestros Gilbert and Sullivan chronicalling their rocky yet firm relationship and the bustle of theater life.… More
  [font=Arial][color=darkred]Mike Leigh's latest might prove to be the old Brit's most daring and ambitious spectacle of memory. It's the tale of English muscial maestros Gilbert and Sullivan chronicalling their rocky yet firm relationship and the bustle of theater life. The period is set down exquisitely with massive amounts of elegant costumes and set designs, all of whom do well to distract you from the plot. Oh I forgot, there isn't one. The drawback to Leigh's 'Topsy-Turvy' is that it is less a movie and more of a recreation of Gilbert and Sullivan musical numbers. Each musical piece lasts in its enduring entirety unyielding to be edited in the least. Thus in between each interlude of song is a snippet of theater life and the insainty displayed much more fluently by last year's 'Shakespeare in Love'. 'Topsy-Turvy' degenerates into a 'Fantasia' style movie -- a musical number here, a snippet in between, then another musical number, and repeat for two hours and fourty minutes. To theater lovers, and especially Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiasts, Mike Leigh's celluloid account should prove a triumpth and brilliant in its startling recreation of 1880s English life. But to any other audience members out there, boredom will set in quickly enough and you'll be asking yourself when you leave if you bought a movie ticket or a theater ticket.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C [/color][/font]

• Ryan M

  
  9.1/10 I watch Mike Leigh's films for many reasons, but here are just three of them; to feel good, to feel sad and helpless, and to be treated to yet another excellent study of the human mind and its capabilities. Leigh's films delight as much as they… More
  9.1/10 I watch Mike Leigh's films for many reasons, but here are just three of them; to feel good, to feel sad and helpless, and to be treated to yet another excellent study of the human mind and its capabilities. Leigh's films delight as much as they intrigue...well, most of them at least. His latest film, "Another Year", seems like pure pleasure, that is until we delve into a deeper, darker, more desperate sub-plot involving one of the characters. And then there's his most challenging feature, "Naked", which is as hard to watch as it is interesting to witness unfold. Now, "Topsy-Turvy" is sort of different. Never did I get the feeling that the film was a sad one, but it says a lot about people, in general, nevertheless. It's a traditional Mike Leigh film with a touch of an epic; making it something different visually and atmospherically, but also familiar in terms of spirit and attitude. It's a fun movie to watch, although you might just have to do so twice. Let's just say that in epics such as this one, there is so much to absorb; visual detail, narrative tweaks, and whatnot. You can't take every ounce of it in all in one viewing, and Mike Leigh knows that; so he allows his film to be loved by those who can appreciate it. If you love it, then you will watch it again, and if you don't, then too bad. Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner) has just composed a new opera, and it has failed miserably. His audience is bored throughout the performance, and some of his actors even find it quite silly and pathetic themselves. It is clear that Sullivan needs a new break, and he gets one. His producer (Ron Cook) calls him and playwright W.S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) in for a meeting, and asks them to collaborate on a new piece for the Opera House "The Savoy". Gilbert is suffering from writer's block, and Sullivan initially refuses to write another piece for the place. However, Gilbert gets a very, very good idea one day when his wife drags him along to a Japanese art and culture exhibit. It is here that he develops a fascination with the values and cultural differences of Japan; and decides that his next opera shall be titled "The Mikado". It is a glorious comic opera that most of us have heard of, and most of us won't need to know much about to enjoy "Topsy-Turvy". The piece unfolds like a satire, and in the real-life events that inspired the film, the opera also turned out to be a success. So I spoiled the ending for you. Big deal. If you read any synopsis, you can tell that this is a predictable film. But sometimes, predictable isn't bad; and plus, there is still much to love out of the production. It's a fun, entertaining film that never feels overlong, it is always engaging, amusing, sometimes even humorous; but always crafty and well-made. The scene where "The Mikado" is actually performed is one of the best scenes I've seen in any film, period. And when it ended, and everybody cheered; I wanted to cheer too, because I was so very happy. The film itself might have brought on such emotions, but then again, so did...the conclusion. Jim Broadbent is one of the most underrated actors I know. All around me, I hear people speak of DiCaprio, Penn, and whoever else. What about Broadbent? The man is pure, living talent at its finest. He is becoming one of my favorite actors, and what do you know, he's done it yet again here. But who shines most of all, for me, is Allan Corduner. I'm not familiar with this fellow, but oh, I'd like to be; he's a fine actor in a fine role. But then again, I suppose everybody here is. I'm ever-so-fond of filmmakers who are obsessed, compelled, and inspired by something major; perhaps a time period, a science, or something of the like. I especially like it when they can put it into film and create something remotely good. "Topsy-Turvy" is the work of a man who is fascinated, obsessed with theatre; and I loved Mike Leigh's attention to detail, characters, and humanity. The film is set in the interesting Victorian Era; and the characters often make conversation, which also makes for good commentary. So yes, Mike Leigh's film is not without its share of sheer intelligence. I don't see how it wasn't nominated for Best Picture in its year. "Topsy-Turvy" left me in a good mood. It has depth, length, spectacle; it is everything that a film should be, or at least everything a GREAT film should be. I won't argue that to some, it could come off as pretentious (it is sometimes slow, and there's a wonderful, but divisive scene in which the filmmaker uses only one shot for several minutes, and to non-experience film-goers, this could come off as, should I say, bothersome). But if you look past everything, allow yourself to feel good while watching a film, and just like it as it is; then "Topsy-Turvy" will work its charm, its humor, its wit, and its specialties; and there are many of them. Too many to list; too many to describe. This film is so good that you must see it to know how its admirers feel about it, so...get to it.

• Alec B

  
  I can see how a lot of people find it dull, but for me its completely fascinating. "Topsy-Turvy" is much more about the time period that Gilbert and Sullivan lived in rather than a traditional bio-pic and thats what makes it work so well. The opera scenes are tremendous fun,… More
  I can see how a lot of people find it dull, but for me its completely fascinating. "Topsy-Turvy" is much more about the time period that Gilbert and Sullivan lived in rather than a traditional bio-pic and thats what makes it work so well. The opera scenes are tremendous fun, and the inmate character moments (in particular the scene between Sullivan and his wife at the very end of the film) are touching and rather sad. Its the kind of period piece I wish was made more often.

• Brian R

  
  This is a great film. Mike Leigh ranks among the best of great filmmakers. Topsy-Turvy is easily one of his best most cherished pictures. It's a theater picture but it's more then a theater picture. Leigh puts all his passions into this since he too was a theater director. I… More
  This is a great film. Mike Leigh ranks among the best of great filmmakers. Topsy-Turvy is easily one of his best most cherished pictures. It's a theater picture but it's more then a theater picture. Leigh puts all his passions into this since he too was a theater director. I really got to see an inside glimpse of the hardwork and dedication the men and women endure in order to conquer a great night. The sets and colors, makeup, and cinematography is a sight too seem some may find this a little bit too long due to the length but I couldn't help but be enjoyed by one of the finest masters at work.

• hawk l

  
  Faithful, gritty rendering of Victorian England and authentic behind-the-scenes production artwork, examining with finesse the emotional distance between its protagonists. Notable performances include an unforgettable turn from Timothy Spall. Detailed, grand-scale art direction and… More
  Faithful, gritty rendering of Victorian England and authentic behind-the-scenes production artwork, examining with finesse the emotional distance between its protagonists. Notable performances include an unforgettable turn from Timothy Spall. Detailed, grand-scale art direction and intimate character study.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings