Time Frame and Sound Quality The film is set over several years, not one. It must begin about 1955, as Florence says that she has spent already six months arranging the purchase of the property. After she has fully established the business, North approaches her with Vladimirr Nabokov's "Lolita", which was published in 1956. She refers to it as just published on more than one occasion. Later in the film, she mentions that she has been involved in the business for five or six years. So, the story runs until at least 1959 if not 1960.
Sound quality. The sounds of nature, with the rustle of the wind, is given free rein, except that, when people begin to speak, the outdoor sounds (or outdoor sounds howling through a house) are suddenly completely shut out. This makes what people say easier to understand, but it is jarring. Better would have been to have two soundtracks and keep the nature sounds on one and subservient to the talks of the characters on the other.