A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a fun adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy

Brainstorm Media

I think we’re all aware of the adaptations that have been inspired by Shakespeare’s works, but he is actually the most credited writer on IMDB with over 1300 credits as a ‘co-writer’. I’ve seen a few interpretations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, from the farcical way my brother handled Nick Bottom in a kids’ drama program years ago, to the 1999 version that starred Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, and a pre-Batman Christian Bale. That was a pretty decent interpretation, although it stayed pretty close to the style of the stage.

This version comes from director Casey Wilder Mott (his first feature film), who also tweaked the script in quite a few ways. Lines are modernized a little here and there, in-jokes to other Shakespearean famous lines are tossed in, and lines are also liberally cut to maintain the style. It takes place in modern day LA, albeit with a bunch of faeries hanging in the forest nearby.

The story effectively is the same, with two primary stories connected to the nonsense and drama of the faeries. Oberon (Saul Williams) the Faerie King wants something (cut due it being problematic in the original) from his wife the Faerie Queen Titania (Mia Doi Todd, who also wrote the music for the movie). So to screw with her, he asks his servant Puck (Avan Jogia) to use some problematic magic to get Titania to fall in love with an animal to embarrass her.

But instead other things happen. Hermia (Rachael Leigh Cook) is the daughter of Duke Theseus (Ted Levine), here stylized as a film producer with that name instead of an actual Duke, and being pushed to marry Demetrius (Finn Wittrock). Hermia is in love with Lysander (Hamish Linklater), while Hermia’s best friend Helena (Lily Rabe) is still in love with Demetrius, her ex. Naturally, hijinks ensure.

In the meantime, a group of wannabe actors are planning their interpretation of ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’, with their main pushing force overactor Nick Bottom (Fran Kranz). They head into the forest to rehearse and film, and then Oberon and Puck see them, and naturally, hijinks ensue.

Hijinks are typical for Shakespearean comedies, which are often described as ‘Everyone gets married at the end’ as opposed to his tragedies, described as ‘Everyone gets killed at the end’. So the question for any adaptation is how well it pulls off the trick of the main point. Here the movies doesn’t quite get past some of the underlying love potion oddness that seems a bit more troubling in a modern context.

But the positives are many in this movie — the choices to turn many poetic lines into music work very well, and there’s a great dreamlike quality to the faerie trickery. The edits go often quick and slick for comedic effect, which usually works but sometimes also causes some eye rolling. In general, the actors get this material, going over the top as needed with Fran Kranz a classic standout.

The romance love triangle storyline feels different than the classic, with the actors doing a decent job, although I think Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe are the best of that bunch. Some of the rest are fine, although this is a play that is more forgiving of alternate performances.

I don’t think this one adaptation will age so well, but it has a good immersive quality and overall feels basically true to the Bard’s vision. For fans of the old Avon guy, this one should be fun for you.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream has a run time of 1 hour 44 minute and is not rated by the MPAA.