A lover betrayed but yet not able to really let go of the relationship; in a way this 28th film in the Sonnet Project has a similar tone as the filmed version of sonnet 10 in that it shows a couple separated but with one of them still considering the other. In the case of sonnet 35, it is a man in a park in what appears to be fall, while he flashbacks memories to what appears to be the height of summer when his partner is in the arms of another on the rich green grass of Tompkins Square Park.
This basic narrative framing before the text begins gives good context to the words and the sense of him hating himself for still loving this woman is pretty well put across. White's delivery is good and the words are clear while also imbued with his performance, so it has tone in there. The silent parts played by Sanders and Lucien are simpler of course, but they add to the structure of the film. The technical delivery is mixed; on one hand we have clear sound considering it is filmed outdoors, but on the other we have the device of overlapping sentences briefly when we go from one shot to another. This might have been done for technical reasons – like to mask the change is audio quality from one shot to the next (like a DJ mixing across) but I'm guessing, all I can say is that I found it distracting and I wasn't sure what the actual point of it was. Likewise, while the film does well to make the same time of year look like a chilly autumn morning, and a glorious summer's afternoon, the use of color saturation is too much in some shots – particularly the one looking out over the water. These are minor quibbles though.
The main thing is that the film works and delivers the sonnet well, and in this it works because the meaning and specific words are clear and well presented by the cast.
This basic narrative framing before the text begins gives good context to the words and the sense of him hating himself for still loving this woman is pretty well put across. White's delivery is good and the words are clear while also imbued with his performance, so it has tone in there. The silent parts played by Sanders and Lucien are simpler of course, but they add to the structure of the film. The technical delivery is mixed; on one hand we have clear sound considering it is filmed outdoors, but on the other we have the device of overlapping sentences briefly when we go from one shot to another. This might have been done for technical reasons – like to mask the change is audio quality from one shot to the next (like a DJ mixing across) but I'm guessing, all I can say is that I found it distracting and I wasn't sure what the actual point of it was. Likewise, while the film does well to make the same time of year look like a chilly autumn morning, and a glorious summer's afternoon, the use of color saturation is too much in some shots – particularly the one looking out over the water. These are minor quibbles though.
The main thing is that the film works and delivers the sonnet well, and in this it works because the meaning and specific words are clear and well presented by the cast.