A Midsummer Night's Dream Triumphs on Screen

A Midsummer Night's Dream is not Shakespeare in Love, and it isn't supposed to be. Yet, leaving the theater, I couldn't help hear disappointed moviegoers comparing the two movies. While Shakespeare in Love is a better film, Michael Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream is better Shakespeare.

Most modern productions of Shakespeare's plays are filled with strange departures from the original text. It is not uncommon nowadays, especially on college campuses, to see Hamlet acted in Star Trek costumes. As a Shakespearean purist, it was refreshing to see a production that follows much of the spirit and letter of the original play.

For the most part, this production captures the spirit and whimsicality of the original text. The elaborate set makes you feel as if you are in an enchanted forest, where fairies play tricks and games on the unsuspecting humans. Unfortunately, the introduction of anachronisms such as bicycles and Victorian clothing makes things confusing. Even stranger though, screenwriter/director Michael Hoffman decides to toss up things even further when he moves the setting of the play from its native Athens to the Tuscan hill town Montepulciano.

Despite these annoyances, the veteran Shakespearean actors Kevin Kline (Bottom), Michelle Pfeiffer (Titania) and Rupert Everett (Oberon) do a superb job with their lines, as the poetry rattles off their tongues. The same cannot be said for their Generation X counterparts Calista Flockhart (Helena), Anna Friel (Hermia), Christian Bale (Demetrius), Dominic West (Lysander), David Strathairn (Theuseus), Sophie Marceau (Hippolyta). The performances by these actors are somewhat embarrassing, especially Calista Flockhart as the whiny Ally McBeal version of Helena. Stanley Tucci is the other standout in the film. He does a fine job as the prankster Puck, who amuses himself by playing mischief on the mortals.

While the more youthful actors may want to wait ten years before doing another Shakespearean production, their performances don't ruin the fun. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the Bard's more delightful plays as it is strong in both plot and character development. G.K. Chesterton was of the opinion that the Dream was one of his finest plays as its "supreme literary merit" was a "merit of design."

The basic premise of the Dream is not dissimilar from Romeo Juliet, as it involves mismatched lovers who must overcome many an obstacle to be together. Lysander and Hermia (West and Friel) love each other despite her father's preference for Demetrius (Bale). Helena (Flockhart) loves Demetrius in vain as his heart belongs to that of Hermia. If you aren't confused enough already, the plot takes many a twist and turn as the fairies Puck and Oberon use a love potion to rearrange the partners, only making matters worse. Yet, it is this confusion that gives the film its charm, as the plot twists provide many a comedic scene.

While this is going on, a whole other subplot is developing between Oberon (Everett) and Titania (Pfeiffer), who are in a lover's spat. To poke fun at his wife he decides to use the love potion for his own devices, as he makes Titania fall in love with a donkey transformed Bottom (Kline). The chemistry between Kline and Pfeiffer is worth the price of admission as it is hilarious to see Kline transformed into a donkey and the beautiful Pfeiffer falling all over him.

While aspects of the film could be better, it is encouraging to see a renewed interest in Shakespeare. Despite the generally disappointing performances of the younger cast members, if not for them, youthful audiences would be spending their time elsewhere. One hopes that such films encourage a small minority of filmgoers, youthful or otherwise, to go to their local bookstore and buy the original texts. With cheap Shakespeare compendiums costing at minimum fifteen bucks, even a quick reading of some of the Bard's works would introduce their minds to whole range of history and knowledge that is no longer taught in secondary schools or the university.