The Sounding

The Sounding is the kind of film you see every few years that comes out of the indie circuit and rekindles your belief in storytelling and the power of human connections. Beautifully shot, acted, and realized. These are filmmaker we'll hear from in the future. And Catherine Eaton is already a movie star.

"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.

Look, very rarely do filmmakers and storytellers take huge risks in an attempt to take an audience into new territory...The Sounding is as much about that risk as it is about an intriguing, complex woman who plumbs the recesses of grief and genius. There are few perfect films, but what really matters is years from now will you still be thinking about it? This is one of those works who will resonate long after the lights have gone up in the theater and the remote control click has turned the screen off at home. A true achievement!

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.

I was blown away by how well the words of Shakespeare were used to drive the story. So much art in one movie. I was captivated from the first turning point and empathetic towards the protagonist. This is pure drama. I felt a surge of emotions in many scenes. There were very few that fell flat but the overall story was poignant and masterfully executed. A few times I noticed some some poor sound mixing which left me a bit distracted and took away from the touching scenes. This was however, a breath of fresh air to watch. I simply loved it.