No matter what line of work we are in, we all probably have felt frustrated by our immediate systems, colleagues and other factors – tired of the fact that people seem to get ahead or do well when they appear much less hard-working or able than us, or that good work is perverted or unappreciated, that best efforts never seem to do as well as other things; I think it is common. In sonnet 66 the writer seems to be tired of such things too – although in the language it is not totally easy to get to that. Certainly the sonnet seems to contrast things, with a virgin turned into a whore, or clear art made befuddled by authority, people of gilded position not making use of that position for the greater good, and so on.
With this theme I hoped that the film would manage to make it relevant and modern – particularly since it has a banner headline location of Times Square, a place instantly recognizable whether you have been there or not. In a way the film does make it relevant but I think it did it in too subtle of a way since my conclusion from it may not even have been what I thought they were. The film places an actor in the middle of Time Square and his tiredness is as evident as the first line or so of the sonnet. As we have close-ups on his face we also get cut-aways to the lights of the location, to the signs and bill boards all around. Now it is possible that this was just cutaways to break up the film and make shooting and editing it easier but for me I felt like the actor did have a sorrow that was tangible and I chose to assume that it must be linked to what we are being shown and thus what he is experiencing.
Maybe I extend too much but I took it to be an almost real lament. Here we have a short film being made with a young actor; it is presenting Shakespeare's work and it is doing so as part of an effort to bring the sonnets to live for an audience – it was not too difficult a leap to understand that those doing that work would bemoan the folly and bright lights of less-worthy but yet more successful endeavors. The actor himself is part of that, as are those behind the camera. This is how I took it and I liked the way I understood the film, but I do wish that, if this is the case, that it had been more direct about it. There is a film in the series (sonnet 8) where another camera films the film being made – it is a device that doesn't add too much in that film, but in this one it would have made the point better (the point I assume it was making at least!). I wanted so much for the actor to break the wall of the camera and to be clearer and even more connected to the material and make the contrast even clearer between their work (ultimately destined to be seen by comparatively few) and the spectacle and bright lights of big shows and products.
I think it did enough and the sonnet is clearly delivered. Being fair to the film, the location is probably the most challenging I have seen yet – with so much noise, so many people, so many variables; just getting the film as well as they did must have been quite the achievement. And it does look good – and sound good too. The actor Shattner does really well; the camera is incredibly close to him and the distractions must have been many, but he sells the inward, reflective tiredness really well.
Sonnet 66 is a very engaging film, but I do wonder how much of it I am assuming from my own understanding and I do wish the film had been a bit more direct with what I think it was doing; that said, even getting what they got in such a location is quite the achievement.
With this theme I hoped that the film would manage to make it relevant and modern – particularly since it has a banner headline location of Times Square, a place instantly recognizable whether you have been there or not. In a way the film does make it relevant but I think it did it in too subtle of a way since my conclusion from it may not even have been what I thought they were. The film places an actor in the middle of Time Square and his tiredness is as evident as the first line or so of the sonnet. As we have close-ups on his face we also get cut-aways to the lights of the location, to the signs and bill boards all around. Now it is possible that this was just cutaways to break up the film and make shooting and editing it easier but for me I felt like the actor did have a sorrow that was tangible and I chose to assume that it must be linked to what we are being shown and thus what he is experiencing.
Maybe I extend too much but I took it to be an almost real lament. Here we have a short film being made with a young actor; it is presenting Shakespeare's work and it is doing so as part of an effort to bring the sonnets to live for an audience – it was not too difficult a leap to understand that those doing that work would bemoan the folly and bright lights of less-worthy but yet more successful endeavors. The actor himself is part of that, as are those behind the camera. This is how I took it and I liked the way I understood the film, but I do wish that, if this is the case, that it had been more direct about it. There is a film in the series (sonnet 8) where another camera films the film being made – it is a device that doesn't add too much in that film, but in this one it would have made the point better (the point I assume it was making at least!). I wanted so much for the actor to break the wall of the camera and to be clearer and even more connected to the material and make the contrast even clearer between their work (ultimately destined to be seen by comparatively few) and the spectacle and bright lights of big shows and products.
I think it did enough and the sonnet is clearly delivered. Being fair to the film, the location is probably the most challenging I have seen yet – with so much noise, so many people, so many variables; just getting the film as well as they did must have been quite the achievement. And it does look good – and sound good too. The actor Shattner does really well; the camera is incredibly close to him and the distractions must have been many, but he sells the inward, reflective tiredness really well.
Sonnet 66 is a very engaging film, but I do wonder how much of it I am assuming from my own understanding and I do wish the film had been a bit more direct with what I think it was doing; that said, even getting what they got in such a location is quite the achievement.