From the miserable in love experiences of the previous two films, sonnet 2 sees us back in the territory of the writer stressing the importance of having children. It is a theme that doesn't sit easily with me when I read it because it isn't one many modern readers will subscribe to – not having children per se, but the idea of them as a way of defeating mortality or preserving the best of oneself for a grateful future. Not all the films have dealt with this aspect particularly well but the last few have – with Van Driest in sonnet 17 playing it as a woman seeking an agreement, and now this in sonnet 2 where we have an older woman acting like a proud grandmother of sorts.
Being honest, I didn't fancy it from the start because it opens with a soft focus and light period music, neither of which are awful but for some reason I took against them. Fortunately, while her vision for the film may not sit well technically with me, her delivery of the text is actually pretty good. Okay again you have to forgive her popping out from behind rocks and trees for seemingly no reason, and she could have made of a character out of it, but the delivery of the text itself is clear – both verbally and in terms of meaning. The idea is good though and I liked the device of the affectionately nagging grandmother type figure – it put it in a context that made sense to me and made ti work well.
I still wasn't sold on the music, the look and the way it was filmed, but it gives context and clarity to the sonnet and delivers the text in a way that is accessible and easily understood – which ultimately is a win for the project.
Being honest, I didn't fancy it from the start because it opens with a soft focus and light period music, neither of which are awful but for some reason I took against them. Fortunately, while her vision for the film may not sit well technically with me, her delivery of the text is actually pretty good. Okay again you have to forgive her popping out from behind rocks and trees for seemingly no reason, and she could have made of a character out of it, but the delivery of the text itself is clear – both verbally and in terms of meaning. The idea is good though and I liked the device of the affectionately nagging grandmother type figure – it put it in a context that made sense to me and made ti work well.
I still wasn't sold on the music, the look and the way it was filmed, but it gives context and clarity to the sonnet and delivers the text in a way that is accessible and easily understood – which ultimately is a win for the project.