lee_eisenberg Review of Topsy-Turvy

Topsy-Turvy (1999)

somewhere between a story of the play and a look at Victorian England

[7/10 · 28 April 2006]

I have to admit that before I saw "Topsy-Turvy", the only exposure that I'd ever had to "The Mikado" was the Goldie Hawn-Chevy Chase comedy/thriller "Foul Play". But now that I understand the opera's origins, it's something to talk about. In a way, this movie almost seems more like a look at Victorian England, but everyone does a good job here. As Gilbert and Sullivan, Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent are in top-notch form. For a while there, we sort of thought that Mike Leigh's movies were kind of slow, but "Secrets & Lies" disproved that and "Topsy-Turvy" affirms him as a great director. So see it. You might just feel like performing an opera after seeing it.