Topsy-Turvy (1999) - film review

In the long hot summer of 1884, the latest Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Princess Ida is proving to be a monumental flop.  W.S. Gilbert is dismayed by the poor reviews the operetta has received and by its poor box office takings, whilst his long-time collaborator Arthur Sullivan has made up his mind that he can no longer squander his talents on empty frivolities like comic opera.  When producer Richard D’Oyly Carte fails to reconcile the two men’s differences, the rift appears permanent.  After visiting an exhibition of Japanese culture in London, Gilbert suddenly has an idea for a new operetta.  Sullivan is instantly won over by Gilbert’s latest libretto and agrees to resume their partnership.  The Mikado would be their biggest success yet...

Mike Leigh’s first attempt at a costume drama is a lavish production which explores the complex relationship between two of the great creative talents of the British stage, William Schwenck Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.  At first sight, Topsy-Turvy would seem to be an odd digression for a director who is best known for his hard-hitting social realist dramas, but between the amusing rehearsals (in which Gilbert plays the sarcastic tyrant for all it is worth) and sumptuously realised operetta numbers, the film offers an insightful glimpse of the social and personal problems that blighted Victorian England.  The film doesn’t limit itself to its two central protagonists, about whom a great deal is already known, but takes us into the troubled lives of their entourage - the overly ambitious impresario D’Oyly Carte, Gilbert’s neglected wife and the insecure stars of the Savoy Opera Company.

Topsy-Turvy is a genuine labour of love, Leigh’s grandest and most perfectly crafted film, but whilst it was critically well-received and picked up two Oscars (for its costumes and make-up), it failed to recoup its 20 million dollar budget at the box office.   Gilbert and Sullivan fans will doubtless love it, as it not only stages several complete numbers from their operettas and reveals some little-known facts (such as Gilbert’s seemingly mad intention to axe the Mikado’s solo number once he had seen it performed), but it uses Sullivan’s music throughout as the basis for the soundtrack.   But the film has far wider appeal, offering not only some great music and comedy, but performances of an exceptional calibre.  As the composer and librettist, Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent convincingly convey the resentment and mutual antagonism that soured the two men’s friendship and made their achievements all the more remarkable.   In one of his most arresting character portrayals, Broadbent plays Gilbert as an amiable tyrant, outwardly thick-skinned and always ready to deflect a crisis or an insult with a witty quip, but inwardly a frustrated and deeply insecure man, incapable of taking any comfort from his successes.

Just as poignant are the insecurities exhibited by the lesser players in the G&S story, the Savoy divas who felt undervalued and unable to stand up to their paymasters through fear of being dismissed.  Timothy Spall not only gives a terrific rendition of the Mikado’s solo number A More Humane Mikado, but also gives an intensely moving portrayal of the man who created the role, Richard Temple.  From Martin Savage’s morphine addicted George Grossmith to Shirley Henderson’s dipsomaniac Leonora Braham, Topsy-Turvy is replete with touching little vignettes that lift the lid on Victorian England and show us the grim realities of life from which Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas offered a very welcome refuge.

© Alex Sullivan 2011

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