#114: Topsy-Turvy
Part of the Top 150 Films series
Were it not for the existence of Mr. Turner, it would be tempting to think of Topsy-Turvy — A biopic!? A period piece!? A quasi-musical!? — as an anomaly in Mike Leigh’s filmography. Look closer, however, and you’ll encounter the same rhythms and textures that make up a quintessential Leigh film: the frosty, fractured relationships that can emerge between friends and collaborators, the banalities and realities of working class London, and frank discussions of political topics. That these take place in Victorian — as opposed to present-day — London around the première of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado allows the film to exploit the theatrical and cinematic trappings of the era, as well as comment on the nature of art then and now. The crafts are all immaculate, the writing sublime, and the performances (Jim Broadbent has never been better) are marvellous. Topsy-Turvy is definitely the right way up.
