A few films before this one, the Sonnet Project did sonnet 53, where the writer considers that the subject of his affection has a classical beauty that comes down the ages; in this film/sonnet we get a few steps beyond that and the writer seems to suggest that such is the subjects beauty that for sure they must have been who others have been writing about for all time beforehand – via some sort of prophecy or divining skills. When I saw that the film was to be set on Coney Island I thought maybe the idea of a timeless beauty of the place would be used, or maybe filmed in an old-style to suggest a link to the past – or hell, maybe even the whole thing would be delivered by someone playing a fortune teller in a cheesy way?
What we get is quite odd and not really successful as a whole film. We open with some shots of the location, but then we get a static shot of the main actor Rivera walking up to and beyond the camera; it is an odd opening because like all people told to "walk naturally" even though they know they are being watched, Rivera looks awkward as anything. At this point the camera work is pretty shaky, a bad sign considering all it does is turn to the right a few degrees! From here we join him again on the beach as he walks towards a woman and then delivers his sonnet in close up. I guess the sound must have been very tough with the wind and waves, because they seem to have dubbed it over the top and it doesn't really fit – it is more or less in sync but the volume and clarity doesn't fit with the very small mouth movements of the actual shot. We cut between the close up of the man and some shots of the woman – I have no idea why she looks like she is in discomfort or has a bad smell under her nose, but it is an odd fit with his relaxed, open features.
The film delivers the words and spirit of the sonnet very clearly though, so if you are looking for a straight delivery of that then you probably will not be disappointed, it is just the film aspect that doesn't work – from the untold story of the couple, of the woman, and the slightly lacking technical aspects of the camera work and sound/ADR.
What we get is quite odd and not really successful as a whole film. We open with some shots of the location, but then we get a static shot of the main actor Rivera walking up to and beyond the camera; it is an odd opening because like all people told to "walk naturally" even though they know they are being watched, Rivera looks awkward as anything. At this point the camera work is pretty shaky, a bad sign considering all it does is turn to the right a few degrees! From here we join him again on the beach as he walks towards a woman and then delivers his sonnet in close up. I guess the sound must have been very tough with the wind and waves, because they seem to have dubbed it over the top and it doesn't really fit – it is more or less in sync but the volume and clarity doesn't fit with the very small mouth movements of the actual shot. We cut between the close up of the man and some shots of the woman – I have no idea why she looks like she is in discomfort or has a bad smell under her nose, but it is an odd fit with his relaxed, open features.
The film delivers the words and spirit of the sonnet very clearly though, so if you are looking for a straight delivery of that then you probably will not be disappointed, it is just the film aspect that doesn't work – from the untold story of the couple, of the woman, and the slightly lacking technical aspects of the camera work and sound/ADR.