Director: Mike Leigh
Year: 1999
Country: UK
Language: English
Mike Leigh's Topsy Turvy is an incredible piece of art by a man who is clearly in love with both the theater and film in general. It is an extraordinary period piece that celebrates all the genius, innovation, hard work, talent, teamwork and personal and professional conflict that may arise in the production of a theatrical presentation .Though each play and film is different, they all have very similar creative processes. Topsy Turvey not only goes into great detail about the process, but it also creates a unique historical look on two of the best thatrical directors who ever lived; Gilbert and Sullivan.
Topsy Turvy is essentially about the origin, preparation and presentation of Gilbert (Allan Corduner) and Sullivan's (Jim Broadbent) odd comic opera known as The Mikado. The movie opens with Arthur Sullivan and William S. Gilber pre-Mikado. They have directed ten astounding hits in a row and are known as the kings of the London stage. Their tremendous success has made way for a theater to be built. Unfortunately their new opera "Princess Ida" has flopped so badly that they seriously consider quitting the business. That is until Gilbert witnesses a Kabuki performance and gets the inspiration he needs to write The Mikado.
"This work with Gilbert is quite simply killing me." Sullivan says near the beginning of the film. What's fascinating about Gilbert and Sullivan is how completely different they are in personality traits. Sullivan is often energetic and optomistic, he is a womanizer and doesn't feel the need to apologize for it. Gilber is more of a serious pessimistic business man who has a keen eye for detail. Apart they are nothing, but together they make masterpieces. From what I've seen, I think Mike Leigh has a healthy balance of both characteristics which allow him to make great films like this and Naked. While Topsy Turvey appears to have the outline of the average drama about theatre it goes into MUCH more detail than any film ever has. We see the costume design, the endless rehearsals, the personal problems, the casting, the writing, the accounting. It;s a necessary film that shows all the tedious work that can go into art.
Topsy Turvey seems completely different from every other film Mike Leigh has made, they are all great but much less theatrical. If you see Life is Sweet and then this film, you will think they're made by completely different directors. I guess this is a statement on how broad Leigh can be. This is a flawlessly made film, from the actors to the cinematography to the Academy Award winning makeup and costume design. There is nothing "bad" I can say about the film. It was so enjoyable that I bought the Criterion edition with plans of seeing it a lot more times.
In conclusion, do you have to be a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan (or Sideshow Bob) to like this film? No. I've yet to see a Gilbert and Sullivan play yet I still love this film. Topsy Turvey is more about the love for the theater and the magic it brings about than the love for Gilbert and Sullivan. It's about 3 hours in length but those hours will rush by very quickly. Easily my favorite film of 1999. Praise it! 5/5
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