Shakespeare's supernatural sex romp re-set in Tuscany in the age of the bicycle and the Victrola, with all attendant discord and discomfort. (Why would Tuscans have names like Theseus, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander? Why, prithee, would they still be talking like that?) It doesn't help that the major roles are split among the clashing tongues of Americans, Englishmen, one Frenchwoman, and no Italians. The discomfort perhaps should lessen once the action moves out of town and into the woods, but it increases anyway from sheer tedium. The rumbustious play-within-the-play comes too late to provide relief. With Kevin Kline, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, Anna Friel, Dominic West, David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau, Stanley Tucci, Rupert Everett, and Michelle Pfeiffer; directed by Michael Hoffman. (1999) — Duncan Shepherd
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