What do Bruce Springsteen, Stephen Colbert, Jordan Peele, Elizabeth Warren and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have in common? They participated in high-school debate and oratory. In the documentary “Speak.,” a montage of their high-school yearbook pictures conform to the conventional wisdom about such students: They look like polished scholars.
The director Jennifer Tiexiera presents the stereotype in order to upend it. The five students of “Speak.,” who are listed by their first names in the documentary, are shown competing in the original oratory category at the 2024 National Speech & Debate Tournament in Des Moines. They are a diverse group whose lives are challenging and at times messy.
The champion, Esther, is the daughter of immigrants; she teaches Sunday school at the behest of her father, who is a pastor in Florida. Sam, from Minnesota, is gay and has been bullied about it. He believes that original oratory is “a way to not only share your stories with the world, but to share reasons why your stories matter.”
Noah, a debater from Texas, is seen arguing with his father while shopping for a suit. “I feel like our dynamic is a bit odd since my mom’s death,” he notes. She took her own life, and Noah plans on making his topic dignity in death. Mfaz, from Minnesota, is popular for her skits on TikTok and speaks in support of wearing a hijab. Noor, a farm girl from Texas, has a younger brother with developmental disabilities and argues for his rights. The lens through which the movie views these kids is objective and balanced, but there’s an empathy at work that makes the viewer understand what each of the subjects is going through.
There can be only one winner, but the filmmakers cultivate interest in them all. It’s clear that they believe the kids can change the world — the sooner the better.
Speak.
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. In theaters.
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