Film Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

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(source: tmdb.org)

Shakespeare’s plays were always popular literary source for film makers. One of the reasons for that can be found in the seaming ease with with the Bard’s texts could be adapted in almost anything - ranging from science fiction like Forbidden Planet, musicals like West Side Story or teen comedies like 10 Things I Hate About You. Gabriel Hoffman with his adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream took conservative approach and remained a little bit more faithful to Shakespeare’s text while still providing a makeover with different setting.

Unlike the original play, which was set in ancient Athens, the plot of the film begins in late 19th Century Italy. In a small town of Monte Atena Duke Theseus (played by David Strathairn) is to wed Hyppolita (played by Sophie Marceau). Egeus (played by Bernard Hill), one of highly respected citizens, asks Duke to rule in the case of his son Demetrius (played by Christian Bale) who is disgraced after learning that his fiancee Hermia (played by Anna Friel) wants to leave him for the sake of Lysander (played by Dominic West), man whom she truly loves. Trying to escape Duke’s justice, lovers decide to run away to nearby forest. Learning about this, young woman named Helena (played by Callista Flockhart) talks Demetrius into following them, hoping that the sight of Hermia in other man’s arms would cause just enough jealousy for Demetrius to accept her own romantic advances. In the meantime, fairy rulers of the forest – King Oberon (played by Rupert Everett) and Queen Titania (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) have their own issues. Oberon, in order to make fun of Titania, order his fairy servant Puck (played by Stanley Tucci) to use magic over Titania and make her fall in love with the first man she sees. That person happens to be Bottom (played by Kevin Kline), actor whose troupe came to forest to practice their next play. Titania falls in love with him, despite Bottom being given large donkey ears. Puck also plays with young lovers in the forest, creating all kinds of mayhem.

Italy was most likely chosen as the setting for this adaptation in order for producers to use some of its resources, like famed Cinecitta studios in Rome, as well as picturesque locations in Tuscany which had been put to excellent use in Merchant-Ivory films and other period dramas and comedies. A great deal of effort was invested in order to make the plot firmly set in 19th Century, which includes not only costumes and props, but also music by Simon Boswell who had based his work on the period’s classics from the opus of Mendelsson, Verdi, Donizzetti, Rossini and other great composers. On the other hand, Hoffman, who also wrote the script, is forced to stuff the content of the original play into feature film format and, in doing so, leaves many details out, resulting in some of the characters and subplots are undeveloped.

Those deficiencies are compensated by a very good cast, often eager to show that can handle Shakespeare with their eyes closed. Kevin Kline is wonderful in the comical role of Bottom, while Callista Flockhart, then at the height of popularity as heroine of Ally McBeal, provides a lot of charm in the role of woman driven to masochism by her romantic inklings. Hoffman, who had mostly succeeded to mix fantasy, period setting and romantic comedy, also uses opportunity to add some very mild erotica in mix. However, it all remains within prudish PG-13 parameters of 1990s Hollywood and even the scene featuring mud wrestling women remains tasteful. Although some might view this film as more of an exercise in style than proper film, most viewers would probably appreciate two hours of light entertainment.

RATING: 6/10 (++)