I enjoyed reading sonnet 96 as it has an interesting tone of reprimanding someone but yet at the same time almost acknowledging that such indiscretions are sort of forgivable because of who it is that is doing them; almost like "I can't stay mad at you" to a loved one. The film didn't totally deliver on this for me but I really appreciated that it had its own narrative and interpretation to it, because it made it much more interesting of a watch than if it had just been a straight read. Essentially we focus on a young man who is flirty and prone to follow the next shiny thing he sees. In some ways this character is well played because it fits with the text, and rings true for younger men chasing anything that takes their fancy, not looking to build anything, and not seeing or caring the damage the approach might do to others. In other ways though, the character doesn't work, particularly early on where we first see him - because pulling a woman's hair is not "playful", it is just dumb (and it being an African-American woman's weave just makes it all the more a dick move). After this though the character is much more "in the wrong" without being a total arse.
The film works this reasonably well; a bit direct at time, and it doesn't make total sense as a character/narrative, but I enjoyed that it tried to do something with the text and the media of the film. Technically it looks good, uses the location well, and the sound quality is good throughout. It doesn't totally work, and some touches I didn't like - but it cheered me to see the Sonnet Project NYC producing the type of film that it used to do as the norm.
The film works this reasonably well; a bit direct at time, and it doesn't make total sense as a character/narrative, but I enjoyed that it tried to do something with the text and the media of the film. Technically it looks good, uses the location well, and the sound quality is good throughout. It doesn't totally work, and some touches I didn't like - but it cheered me to see the Sonnet Project NYC producing the type of film that it used to do as the norm.