One of the reasons that my experience of Shakespeare is really limited to stage and film, is that I do find reading it to be harder; okay I have more time to catch every word and the think on the sentences, but the context and intent is not as easy to ascertain when compared to seeing it delivered. The films in the Sonnet Project are variable but the ones I like the most tend to be those that take the text and connect it to something modern and recognizable so that the viewer already has an 'in' to the text and how to understand it.
That is the case with sonnet 58, a sonnet that I read several times and still wasn't sure how I was reading it. With the film, it was clear within the first few times the barmaid looked at her phone impatiently and a bit frustrated while others were tapping away at the bar; the subject of the sonnet was someone who she loved but yet seemed to be taking his sweet time to get back to her or even send a text. With this in mind the talk of being a slave, being at the other's beck, and ultimately agreeing to wait no matter how hard it is rather than blame the other. It is a well-rounded idea because it fits with the text very well. I wasn't totally sure of the manner of delivery at first, and still don't think the film needed two guys in the foreground of the shot – although the ability to interact with them does mean the delivery of the sonnet is broken up and gives the actress Walsh some time to change her tone or reflect; technically I also liked that it was all done in one shot.
It may not have the flamboyance or creativity of some of the films, but it does the main thing well – which is to take the sonnet an put it in our time and place so that it can be understood and seen to be relevant and understandable even hundreds of years after it was written.
That is the case with sonnet 58, a sonnet that I read several times and still wasn't sure how I was reading it. With the film, it was clear within the first few times the barmaid looked at her phone impatiently and a bit frustrated while others were tapping away at the bar; the subject of the sonnet was someone who she loved but yet seemed to be taking his sweet time to get back to her or even send a text. With this in mind the talk of being a slave, being at the other's beck, and ultimately agreeing to wait no matter how hard it is rather than blame the other. It is a well-rounded idea because it fits with the text very well. I wasn't totally sure of the manner of delivery at first, and still don't think the film needed two guys in the foreground of the shot – although the ability to interact with them does mean the delivery of the sonnet is broken up and gives the actress Walsh some time to change her tone or reflect; technically I also liked that it was all done in one shot.
It may not have the flamboyance or creativity of some of the films, but it does the main thing well – which is to take the sonnet an put it in our time and place so that it can be understood and seen to be relevant and understandable even hundreds of years after it was written.