Speak

Kristen Stewart

Nicely done melodrama about a 14 yo high school girl who is raped at a party and becomes a pariah among her peers for trying to report it. She tells no one, buries her pain inside and struggles to continue.

Much of this played like an after-school special...with caricatures of adults, teachers and parents, as teens would see them. But KS turns in a strong performance that easily carries the film. Since she is nearly mute she must do with posture and facial expressions.

Cartoonish last 15 minutes was crowd-pleasing but unrealistic. But by that point the film had won me over.

6