MovieChat Forums > Speak (2004) Discussion > Am I Alone in Thinking...

Am I Alone in Thinking...

posted 15 years ago by pianoplayer219
6 replies | jump to latest

That Melinda should have told Mr. Freeman about what happened? I know she did in the book, but I watched the movie again the other night and seeing how much he cared about her and how comfortable she felt around him and no one else, I think she should have told him. It was a relief to see that she finally told someone, especially her mom. But, at the end, Mr. Freeman made it clear that he would always be there if she ever needed to talk about anything. The first time I saw this movie, I so hoped that she would have revealed her secret to him. Like I said, I was glad to see that she told Rachel and her mom, but I really think opening up to him would have done her a world of good. Does anyone else agree?

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] m_tami17 15 years ago

I think that he knew that something was wrong. In several scenes he actually said that. Like, when he was telling the other students about his painting, he looked at her and talked about pain and how you have to find a way to use it or something like that.
Look, yeah he was nice to her, even more than that, but you can't forget that he wasn't all there for her, 100%. Like when she came to the classroom after her friend blew her off, she probably just wanted to sit there, and eat her lunch, like before but he told her: "not now", pretty aggressively as well. As I see it, he was very open to her ant also towards other students about stuff. And he was always complaining about things that bothered him, like the school board members and how he didn't feel good about him being a "conventional" teacher. So yeah, some people were nice to her, like Dave as well, but there was no one there who would just put everything aside and just listen.
And she searched for that so badly, for the eye connection she could never find because everyone were avoiding her.
And plus, hello! He is a MAN. And I guess, as nice as he was, it's pretty hard to talk to another man about that...
But that's just me. Anyway I love this film. So genuine and delicate and powerfull. Just good.

"Thieves get rich, saints get shot and god don't answer prayers a lot"

[–] taybar1996 14 years ago

I liked the book ending better when she told Mr. Freeman.

[–] InfiniteMoments 14 years ago

In the book, yeah she told Mr. Freeman but it was at the very end...after everyone had already heard, her parents had found out, Rachel had started calling her again. So while it was Mr. Freeman she tells in the end, she had already shared her story at that point.

Plus, I think it was a stronger ending with her mom being the first person she told everything to, I just felt like it added so much to her journey.

"Kristen, p***y to the wood. *beep* your guitar!" - Joan Jett rehearsing The Runaways @HereComesSun86

[–] whitespirit26 14 years ago

It makes much more sense that she would tell her mom, rather than a man, no matter how nice he was.

[–] InfiniteMoments 14 years ago

I have to disagree with the idea that she'd tell her mom over Freeman just because he was a man. He was the person who helped her find ways to express her pain, her confusion, her anger, everything for the first time since the party. He also gave her a sanctuary, a place to hide during lunch, and he was always open and patient with her.

Considering all that, while I liked that it showed her telling her mom in the film, I think she absolutely would have reached out to her art teacher and the novel had a great ending. Mr. Freeman had heard the story by then, but having her tell him in her own words and in her voice was significant and powerful.

"Kristen, p***y to the wood. *beep* your guitar!" - Joan Jett rehearsing The Runaways @HereComesSun86