WORDS, WORDS, WORDS // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE SOUNDING"
Long a favorite in the film festival circuit (it first appeared in 2017) Catherine Eaton's Bard speaking poet finally arrives for the rest of the world to see. THE SOUNDING, which was co-written and directed by its star Eaton, brings us to the remote town where a retired psychiatrist named Lionel (Harris Yulin) and his granddaughter Liv (Eaton) live. For years, Lionel has tried to discover why Liv cannot, or will not, speak. Nothing is wrong with her vocal cords, yet she does not speak. Now afflicted with Throat cancer and losing the ability to speak himself, Lionel seeks out someone to help look after her when he's gone. Liv begins to speak for her Grandfather, using only the words of Shakespeare, which has been a mainstay in their home for years. He calls on a younger psychiatrist and former student Michael (Teddy Sears) to his home and implores him to help. Lionel now accepts her unusual speech choices and tells Michael, "Her silence is a choice. If you attack that, you attack her very being." He hopes the two of them can find something in each other that wasn't there before.
After Liv survives a near fatal accident (or possible suicide attempt), Michael goes against Lionel's wishes and has her committed, thinking he can be there with her and help "fix her." This goes not only directly against Lionel's wishes but against everyone in their inner circle as well. Suddenly, Michael is public enemy number one and instead of being able to help her in the hospital he's just committed her to, he's banned from it. Lionel's trusted lawyer Roland, played by Frankie Faison, makes sure of that. Once there, she's deemed insane and the film begins to explore why hospitals like this often misdiagnose patients they simply can't understand. Liv continues to speak only Shakespeare, having a quip for every moment. Yet even with his betrayal, she wants to see Michael. She needs him just as he now is beginning to see how he needs her.
THE SOUNDING has a lot going for it, but for every success there's a setback. First off, the acting is superb. Eaton is wonderful in the role she co-created for herself. She brings a theatrical fire to the screen, passionately showing how The Bard's words hundreds of years later can still relate to any situation. She's a gifted actress and shows a strong emotional range in Liv's struggles. Sears has a far less show stopping role but still maintains an even tone with his characterization. Even if you don't always like him (and you won't), he's also never painted as a villain. Stage and screen veteran Harris Yulin doesn't have many scenes but powerfully grasps every one of them, stealing even the smallest moments from his co-stars around him. The ensemble of Faison, Danny Burstein and more fill every scene with intensity and strength. As for the story itself, the Shakespeare angle is wonderful and original. However the film's main journey and revelation between the two characters is easily guessed about five minutes after they meet. Which makes it less of a discovery movie and more of several great acting scenes stacked one after another. The hospital scenes feel largely underdeveloped and a bit too bland. THE SOUNDING is often a bit too sappy and isn't as complex as you first may think, but it's still well worth a watch to marvel at the wonderful character Eaton and co-writer Brian Delaney has crafted with Liv. All the world's a stage, and Liv is the center of it all.
GRADE: B
WRITTEN BY Brian Delaney, Catherine Eaton DIRECTED BY Catherine Eaton STARRING Teddy Sears, Catherine Eaton, Harris Yulin, Frankie Faison, Danny Burstein. Now Available on Digital Cinemas. For more info: https://www.thesoundingfilm.com/watch-now