A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

A Midsummer Night's Dream Poster

The lovely Hermia is to wed Demetrius, but she truly cares for Lysander. Hermia's friend, Helena, is in love with Demetrius, while other romantic entanglements abound in the woods, with married fairy rulers Titania and Oberon toying with various lovers and each other.

Introduction
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" launched in 1999 is a romantic comedy movie based on the play of the very same name penned by William Shakespeare. Directed by Michael Hoffman, the movie boasts an excellent ensemble cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale and Sophie Marceau to name a few. Though the film retains much of the original play's storyline, it shifts the setting from ancient Greece to Italy at the turn of the 19th century.

Main Plot
The storyline weaves around the trials and adversities of two couples: Hermia (Anna Friel) who's in love with Lysander (Dominic West) and Helena (Calista Flockhart) who is captivated with Demetrius (Christian Bale). The plot thickens when Hermia's father firmly insists upon her weding Demetrius and the Duke of Athens supports him. To get away the organized marital relationship, Hermia and Lysander elope into the forest, pursued by Demetrius and Helena.

Supernatural and Comedic Twists
The forest harbours an ethereal world of fairies led by their King Oberon (Rupert Everett) and Queen Titania (Michelle Pfeiffer). Oberon, seeking vengeance on Titania, advises the naughty fairy Puck - Hobgoblin (Stanley Tucci) to use a magical flower's juice onto her eyes while she sleeps. This would make her fall in love with the very first living animal she sees upon waking. All at once, Oberon advises Puck to use the exact same potion on Demetrius to make him return Helena's love.

Puck wrongly uses the potion to Lysander, triggering him to fall for Helena, causing a mix-up of affections among the 2 couples. Added to this mayhem, Puck turns an amateur star, Bottom (Kevin Kline), who's practicing in the forest, into a donkey. The transformed Bottom becomes the first animal Titania sees upon awakening, and she promptly falls head over heals in love with him.

Resolution
After realizing his mistake, Oberon orders Puck to rectify it by putting Lysander and Demetrius to sleep and applying an antidote to Lysander-- so he falls back in love with Hermia, and upon awakening, Demetrius loves Helena. The spell is likewise lifted from Titania, bringing her back to peace of mind, and from Bottom, resulting in his improvement back into a human. Upon getting up, the enthusiasts find their love straightened properly, and each believes the previous events to be however a dream.

Lastly, the Duke, who is at first in favour of Hermia's marital relationship to Demetrius, permits her to wed Lysander while Demetrius weds Helena, making this chaotic comedy-of-errors a story of love triumphing in the end.

Conclusion
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" captures the magic, humour, turmoil, and ultimate resolution of Shakespeare's popular play, set against the attractive background of 19th century Italy. It weaves together multiple plotlines of mistaken identities and love potions into a whimsical fairy tale, stabilizing comic absurdity with romantic enthusiasm. The movie, however, likewise subtly mean themes of control, deceptiveness, and love's impracticality, offering audiences with an aesthetically lush and character-driven Shakespearean adaptation.

Top Cast