This review originally appeared on the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s “Roll Film” movie review site (http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=219_0_6_0). Each film was also reviewed by my CBF colleague, Greg Borzo, who focused more on the bike content.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
3 Wheels
It's difficult (though not impossible) to screw up Shakespeare. When a filmmaker has the greatest words of the English language to fall back on, an engaging viewing experience for the audience is just about guaranteed. The pertinent question for a Shakespeare adaptation is: Does the director's own vision enhance the text or just rely on it?
In the case of Michael Hoffman's 1999 film A Midsummer Night's Dream, a fresh perspective is achieved by updating the play from ancient Greece to late nineteenth century Tuscany. This creates both a sufficiently dreamlike atmosphere and allows for the introduction of bicycles into the action. The bikes here provide two functions. First, as a way to transport Shakespeare's mismatched lovers into the magical forest and, ultimately, as a source of great amusement to the fairies, who can't wait to see what those crazy mortals will come up with next.
The special effects are low-key but effective. My only real complaint is with the somewhat bizarre casting choices made in an attempt to assemble star actors. The most egregious offender is Calista Flockhart who, as the tortured Helena, mugs and preens as if she were still on her goofy TV show. Stanley Tucci, an actor best known for playing uptight corporate types, is an odd choice for the mischievous fairy, Puck.
Kevin Kline was great as Hamlet in the mid-eighties, but when his Dream character, Bottom, is turned into a donkey, both the makeup and performance seem a bit too subtle. The inherent comedy of this donkey-headed character being seduced by the fairy queen, Titania, is lost when this preposterous pairing is meant to be touching. It also doesn't help that Michelle Pfeiffer, though she looks the part, can't really sell the dialogue. Miscast as the film is, this is still one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies, and it’s far more intelligent and entertaining than most contemporary romantic comedies.
I would be remiss in my critical duties if I did not point you to the significantly better 1968 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream starring Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Ian Holm. These great actors bring a degree of depth and fun to the proceedings lacking in the 1999 film, though the newer adaptation certainly has the edge in the special effects department. (The fairies in the 1968 film are unevenly covered in green paint.)
Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream never reaches the brilliance of Roman Polanski's Macbeth, Akira Kurosawa's King Lear adaptation, Ran, or Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, but Shakespeare's tragedies have always been more cinematic than his comedies. Hoffman's Dream is more like Mel Gibson's Hamlet or the mid-nineties version of Twelfth Night—just good enough to wet our appetite to seek out the true greatness of Shakespeare on our own.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
3 Wheels
It's difficult (though not impossible) to screw up Shakespeare. When a filmmaker has the greatest words of the English language to fall back on, an engaging viewing experience for the audience is just about guaranteed. The pertinent question for a Shakespeare adaptation is: Does the director's own vision enhance the text or just rely on it?
In the case of Michael Hoffman's 1999 film A Midsummer Night's Dream, a fresh perspective is achieved by updating the play from ancient Greece to late nineteenth century Tuscany. This creates both a sufficiently dreamlike atmosphere and allows for the introduction of bicycles into the action. The bikes here provide two functions. First, as a way to transport Shakespeare's mismatched lovers into the magical forest and, ultimately, as a source of great amusement to the fairies, who can't wait to see what those crazy mortals will come up with next.
The special effects are low-key but effective. My only real complaint is with the somewhat bizarre casting choices made in an attempt to assemble star actors. The most egregious offender is Calista Flockhart who, as the tortured Helena, mugs and preens as if she were still on her goofy TV show. Stanley Tucci, an actor best known for playing uptight corporate types, is an odd choice for the mischievous fairy, Puck.
Kevin Kline was great as Hamlet in the mid-eighties, but when his Dream character, Bottom, is turned into a donkey, both the makeup and performance seem a bit too subtle. The inherent comedy of this donkey-headed character being seduced by the fairy queen, Titania, is lost when this preposterous pairing is meant to be touching. It also doesn't help that Michelle Pfeiffer, though she looks the part, can't really sell the dialogue. Miscast as the film is, this is still one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies, and it’s far more intelligent and entertaining than most contemporary romantic comedies.
I would be remiss in my critical duties if I did not point you to the significantly better 1968 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream starring Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Ian Holm. These great actors bring a degree of depth and fun to the proceedings lacking in the 1999 film, though the newer adaptation certainly has the edge in the special effects department. (The fairies in the 1968 film are unevenly covered in green paint.)
Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream never reaches the brilliance of Roman Polanski's Macbeth, Akira Kurosawa's King Lear adaptation, Ran, or Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, but Shakespeare's tragedies have always been more cinematic than his comedies. Hoffman's Dream is more like Mel Gibson's Hamlet or the mid-nineties version of Twelfth Night—just good enough to wet our appetite to seek out the true greatness of Shakespeare on our own.
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