I thought the film was decent, but could have been better. It was slightly uncomfortable to watch the film at first, because of its relative budget constraints compared to the multi-million dollar movies that people are so used to now. It made it seem a little less "smooth" initially, but that wore off as the film found its rhythm.
The acting was also something that seemed to be a little sketchy before it gained its footing. The chemistry between the two was difficult to see at first, and they both seemed to be overacting a little bit, but as the film progressed, they seemed to ease into their roles a little better and drew you deeper in as a result. The Hemingway- ish appearance of Parker was kind of corny, though.
These were all sufficient, but I felt they could have been done better, though that may be just due to the limited budget the filmmakers were working with. One problem I had with the film was how they dealt with Parker's heavily-implied heart attack, and this has to do with the fact that I read the screenplay before viewing the film.
In the screenplay, Parker yelps out that he's been stung and never saw the bee, and he tells his daughter to stay inside, to not worry about it. In the film, he makes the same amount of noise, but Alex comes out and examines his arm, seeing that there is no stinger in his arm. Now, she's a nurse, so wouldn't your father complaining of a sharp pain in his arm with no evidence of a puncture wound kind of lead you to remember that that's one of the signs of an impending heart attack? ESPECIALLY when you've just had a conversation wherein your dad says he's not going to be around forever? If they had followed the screenplay, it would have been fine, but having her actually examine his arm and find no stinger without something in her brain clicking, that's ridiculous.
I also didn't like how they handled the ending. The screenplay has him throw the empty bottle, have his arm slump to his side with the sound of bees rising (directly implying fatal cardiac arrest) before fading out. In the film, he types at his typewriter as the screen fades to black, with his typing slowing to a stop as we see see his bottle pouring out on the ground in slow motion before it cuts to black and the credits roll. I didn't like the ending they shot for the film, I just felt it was corny and not as poetically powerful as the one written in the screenplay.
"The Silence of Bees" was a decently made film with powerful themes, it just didn't figure out a way to execute up to what I considered to be its potential.
The acting was also something that seemed to be a little sketchy before it gained its footing. The chemistry between the two was difficult to see at first, and they both seemed to be overacting a little bit, but as the film progressed, they seemed to ease into their roles a little better and drew you deeper in as a result. The Hemingway- ish appearance of Parker was kind of corny, though.
These were all sufficient, but I felt they could have been done better, though that may be just due to the limited budget the filmmakers were working with. One problem I had with the film was how they dealt with Parker's heavily-implied heart attack, and this has to do with the fact that I read the screenplay before viewing the film.
In the screenplay, Parker yelps out that he's been stung and never saw the bee, and he tells his daughter to stay inside, to not worry about it. In the film, he makes the same amount of noise, but Alex comes out and examines his arm, seeing that there is no stinger in his arm. Now, she's a nurse, so wouldn't your father complaining of a sharp pain in his arm with no evidence of a puncture wound kind of lead you to remember that that's one of the signs of an impending heart attack? ESPECIALLY when you've just had a conversation wherein your dad says he's not going to be around forever? If they had followed the screenplay, it would have been fine, but having her actually examine his arm and find no stinger without something in her brain clicking, that's ridiculous.
I also didn't like how they handled the ending. The screenplay has him throw the empty bottle, have his arm slump to his side with the sound of bees rising (directly implying fatal cardiac arrest) before fading out. In the film, he types at his typewriter as the screen fades to black, with his typing slowing to a stop as we see see his bottle pouring out on the ground in slow motion before it cuts to black and the credits roll. I didn't like the ending they shot for the film, I just felt it was corny and not as poetically powerful as the one written in the screenplay.
"The Silence of Bees" was a decently made film with powerful themes, it just didn't figure out a way to execute up to what I considered to be its potential.