Truly Dreadful Film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The Sounding is a brave film about resistance: resistance to conformity, to conventionality, to the expectations of the dominant culture and its narratives about normality and sanity and the kinds of lives we're allowed to pursue without the cultural enforcers, including the medical establishment and the state, coming down to set us straight via medication and even incarceration. So long as we speak the exoburban language of consumption and self and reaction and generally behave, chances are good we'll be left alone. But, if, one day, we lose faith in conventional discourse and subvert it by beginning to speak . . . Shakespeare, well, all bets are off.Catherine Eaton is mesmerizing as Liv, a young woman who, on a windswept island off the Maine coast, has chosen to remain silent for years. Eventually, she begins to speak again, but in an English composed entirely of Shakespeare's words. That's when the assault on her freedom begins. She must be protected, mustn't she? Surely, she must be normalized, the cause of her anomalous behavior diagnosed, and a path to "recovery" prescribed and followed. Surely she must give up her resistance to those who would help her. Surely.Ms. Eaton both directs the film and delivers a masterful, haunting, and powerful performance as Liv. The cinematography is breathtaking — the Maine coast is difficult to get wrong, but its desolate, Novemberish beauty is a poignant setting for Liv's struggle to be free and live an authentic life as she imagines it. Eaton has written that the film is ultimately about "otherness" and its cost. It couldn't come at a more propitious moment than the present that is witnessing a demonization of the foreign Other who presents such a vulnerable scapegoat onto which too many Americans are projecting their anxiety and insecurity. It will be a great benefit for this film to be available for all Americans to see and think about.

"The Sounding" starts with the highly original premise of a woman who speaks only in Shakespearian quotations. From there, it delves into a fearless examination of communication, cognition, and resolving one's truth with the presumptions of society. An outstanding lead turn by writer/director Catherine Eaton makes this a must-see. Admirers of Frank and Eleanor Perry's "David and Lisa" take note.

This beautifully shot, superbly written film was captivating to watch and contains a story of such depth that it will stay with the audience long after the credits end. Amazing scenery, steadfast directing and top notch acting add to a stimulating and thoughtful commentary on modern society. I'm looking forward to seeing more from these filmmakers!

The beauty of this film is it's ability to viscerally illuminate the struggles and triumphs we all encounter, at one point or another, to communicate. It touches deeply on how fragile and sublime life is. The story arc traces how difficult it can be to be clear about one's intentions, 'words' and actions, and how when we are not so clear, it can cause harm, despite our good intentions. Eaton's grounding in the Dharma becomes evident through her gentle yet strong performance as well as the film's allegiance to the core truth that all being's inherent qualities are kind and compassionate, even though we may be temporarily covered in a dirty cloth.