Sonnet #91
- Episode aired May 26, 2014
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S1.66: Sonnet #91: Very strong performance from Ruddy in a character that fits the text really well and is very professionally filmed doing it
Although I have loved seeing these old texts placed in modern settings, contexts and styles of delivery, there is something to be said for an actor seeming to walk the boards, puffing their chest a little and delivering a good old fashioned English gentleman. That is what this film gets through actor Tim Ruddy (who is not, as IMDb currently proclaims, the former center for the Miami Dolphins {but I'll fix that}). The sonnet is a musing on those who place their value in fine clothes, money, their strength, their birthright, their cars (well, horses) and other such thing. The writer takes his from so much better a source – the love of his subject. Of course, unlike a good reliable horse or well-made coat, this love could be taken away by the choice of another – and the writer is woefully aware that he could easily be cast down as he finds himself without worth.
The film is delivered in the famous central path of trees called Literary Walk and it is a location the film uses well, but mainly because of how well the lead actor commands that location – despite sharing it with hundreds of other people, none of who draw your eye away from him. The film pretty much stays with Ruddy for the duration and hands him a very nice character. What we get is a man drinking from a flask in the park on a cold day; he is very well spoken and has a rather forthright English accent, so it is clear he is not some career tramp but rather a man who is well-to-do but perhaps not having the best period of his life. This is a strong creation because we get that from the accent, the props, the costume and the performance – important because that character fits the words really well.
His approach fits the lines because he seems a little aloof about how others judge themselves and, in particular, Ruddy does very well with the snippy comment on the poor clothes of those that put their value in such items. This continues but is tempered very nicely in the final lines because it becomes apparent that this loss of worth that he worries about is not a potential thing (as I thought when I read it), but rather such loss is what has brought him to this state that is clearly lower than he previously has been. I liked this a lot and Ruddy really drew me into it; he has the knowing, confident walk of a landed gent and it convinced in contrast with his situation. He holds the camera well in the moving close-ups, and when he is slowly strolling down the center of the screen, it makes for a very nice shot. Actually technically the whole thing looks very good – good shot selections, very clear cinematography and sound; the end result is a very strong final product which captures the text, delivers it through a strong performance which it does a very good job of capturing.
The film is delivered in the famous central path of trees called Literary Walk and it is a location the film uses well, but mainly because of how well the lead actor commands that location – despite sharing it with hundreds of other people, none of who draw your eye away from him. The film pretty much stays with Ruddy for the duration and hands him a very nice character. What we get is a man drinking from a flask in the park on a cold day; he is very well spoken and has a rather forthright English accent, so it is clear he is not some career tramp but rather a man who is well-to-do but perhaps not having the best period of his life. This is a strong creation because we get that from the accent, the props, the costume and the performance – important because that character fits the words really well.
His approach fits the lines because he seems a little aloof about how others judge themselves and, in particular, Ruddy does very well with the snippy comment on the poor clothes of those that put their value in such items. This continues but is tempered very nicely in the final lines because it becomes apparent that this loss of worth that he worries about is not a potential thing (as I thought when I read it), but rather such loss is what has brought him to this state that is clearly lower than he previously has been. I liked this a lot and Ruddy really drew me into it; he has the knowing, confident walk of a landed gent and it convinced in contrast with his situation. He holds the camera well in the moving close-ups, and when he is slowly strolling down the center of the screen, it makes for a very nice shot. Actually technically the whole thing looks very good – good shot selections, very clear cinematography and sound; the end result is a very strong final product which captures the text, delivers it through a strong performance which it does a very good job of capturing.
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- bob the moo
- Aug 13, 2014
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