A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
A film review by Liz Rizzo
Rating *** out of ****
Starring Christian Bale, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Kevin Kline, Michael Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, and Dominic West. Directed by Michael Hoffman. Written by Michael Hoffman, play by William Shakespeare.
`Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough brier, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire...'
When A Midsummer Night's Dream is done well, it should take us on a journey to a magical place and time, ignite our imaginations and stir our hearts. When Shakespeare is done well, the language and emotion must flow out of every actor, making us understand even if we don't quite follow every turn of phrase. Michael Hoffman's film does all this and more. It is beautifully done and, for the most part, wonderfully acted. This is what theater brought to the screen should be.
Clearly an Oscar contender for costume and set design, this version has been placed convincingly in the 1900s (and out of ancient Greece), a trick which only jars occasionally and allows our heroes and heroines to amusingly rush through the woods on bicycles. The fairy kingdom is enchanting, and the whole production shines with the time and care that was obviously put into it.
There are several notable performances, including Kevin Kline in a standout portrayal of Bottom, the acting enthusiast who wants to take on every part in the play within the play, and Rupert Everett as a dark and sexy Oberion, the fairy king, while the ever vivacious Stanley Tucci seems to be having the time of his life playing his faithful servant Puck. As for the women, the best performance is clearly held by Calista Flockhart in the frequently less-than-desirable role of Helena, who spends the entire play throwing herself at the reluctant Demetrius, played by Christian Bale. Flockhart brings humor and sympathy to her Helena. For in typical Shakespearian comedy style, Demetrius is love with Hermia (Anna Friel), who is turn in love with Lysander (Dominic West), who is thankfully in love with her (Hermia). At least most of the time.
My least favorite performance was surprisingly that of Michelle Pfeiffer, who is absolutely radiant and gives a good performance, but somehow comes off as rather unbelievable as the fairy queen to Everett's Oberion. Other less than perfect moments include a glimpse of the child she's adopted, who for some reason is very blue. OK, he's from India, but he's `mortal born,' and it struck me as odd. He's very blue. Also, there's a mud wrestling scene that I could have done without. I found myself overly distracted from the dialogue. Luckily, our heroes and heroines lose the mud very quickly. Must be that fairy magic.
What is most outstanding is the wonderful interpretation of Shakespeare's work. Many of the things one familiar with the play would expect and hope to be there, are. However, there are also many surprises and interesting interpretations of lines and situations. For when all is said and done, this is Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play in which it is sometimes hard to keep up the pace as it shifts back and forth between the multiple story lines.
And yet, fascination and love of this play persists, and people love to perform and watch it over and over again. It's hard to imagine someone doing another film version after this one, but someone will. As Puck might say, `Lord, what fools these mortals be!' Ah but Puck... perhaps not. We can all use a little fairy magic now and again.
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