A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Tags

1990's, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Anna Friel, Bernard Hill, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, Comedy, David Strathairn, Dominic West, Fantasy, Kevin Kline, Michael Hoffman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Romance, Rupert Everett, Sam Rockwell, Sophie Marceau, Stanley Tucci, William Shakespeare

Film Title

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Director

Michael Hoffman

Starring

• Kevin Kline as Nick Bottom
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Titania
• Rupert Everett as Oberon
• Calista Flockhart as Helena
• Anna Friel as Hermia
• Dominic West as Lysander
• Christian Bale as Demetrius
• Stanley Tucci as Puck
• David Strathairn as Theseus
• Sophie Marceau as Hippolyta
• Bernard Hill as Egeus
• Sam Rockwell as Francis Flute

A well cast and amusing adaptation of the classic Shakespeare comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream gets points for direction, writing and acting. Yes it isn’t the best Shakespeare adaptation there is and there are a few flaws, but by and large it’s a success of love’s complications, romantic entanglements and mischievous magic.

The setting is Italy near the beginning of the twentieth century( in the play the setting is Greece). The Duke Theseus is preparing for his upcoming marriage to Hippolyta. He is a respected man and is asked near the beginning to help Egeus with his problem. The problem in question is his daughter Hermia, who he has betrothed to Demetrius. Hermia is actually enamored with Lysander, but their love is forbidden. With Hermia being forced to marry Demetrius, the young lady and her lover Lysander secretly plan to elope. Meanwhile, Hermia’s friend Helena pines for the moody Demetrius, but to no avail as he loves Hermia. The downtrodden Helena seizes the opportunity to make an impression on Demetrius by informing him of Hermia and Lysander’s plans to run away one night through the nearby forest. Demetrius follows the two star-crossed lovers deep into the forest, with the desperate Helena behind him. Yet what none of the four realise is that the forest is inhabited by fairies, and most importantly the fairy King Oberon and his wife Queen Titania. The couple is going through trouble and their differences begin to hold sway on the fates of the four young lovers in the forest. The scheming Oberon, to get back at Titania, devises an amusing plan and enlists the help of loyal but mischief-loving sprite Puck to help. By obtaining a magical flower and applying the nectar of it to the eyelids of Titania, when she awakens she will fall in love with the first person she sees. Into this game unintentionally comes the talkative actor Nick Bottom and his company, who are rehearsing a play to perform at the upcoming wedding. Using the flower on Titania and then turning the unsuspecting Bottom into a donkey, a funny beginning of events flourishes as Titania becomes smitten with the transformed Bottom, much to the actor’s surprise and delight. Oberon also asks Puck to help out Helena so that Demetrius falls in love with her. But naughty Puck accidentally mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and soon enough chaos ensues as the romances interlink and much squabbling occurs thanks to Puck’s devilish intervention.

Michael Hoffman successfully translates the enjoyable and funny qualities of the play to the screen with both imagination and inventiveness. He updates the setting to pre-twentieth century and it actually works very well, though I’m sure purists may quibble and take issue with it. The update allows for some beautiful scenery and gorgeous cinematography that is marvellous. A few parts of his direction are flawed, such as letting some scenes in the middle to lumber on longer than necessary, yet his overall control and skill is evidence throughout as he retains the riotous humour of the piece. Hoffman also is adept at being scriptwriter, bringing the fantasy and romantic switch ups into full fruition with humour and style and sticking to Shakespeare’s poetic verve. A vibe of sexiness is ever-present through this film; found in the double entendres and the presence of Cupid gone awry, causing humorous and unexpected matches. A modernity also pervades many parts of this adaptation, with the literal mud-slinging style catfight between Hermia and Helena a highlight. Set design, particularly in the enchanted forest and Titania’s otherworldly domain, has a definite theatrical quality that feels right for something like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, yet is embellished by the beauty of cinematic eyes and the gorgeousness that celluloid can provide. A light and twinkling score, also infused with some grand operatic arias, sets the pace of the film and what will follow with playful glee.

A handsomely star-studded cast fleshes out the roles of this romantic comic fantasy and are skilled with speaking Shakespeare’s words. The biggest standout is Kevin Kline, who is in his element as the buffoonish but strangely touching Bottom. By balancing the two aspects of comedy and pathos, Kline rules the roost and gives his all to the comic yet poignant character whose garrulous ways and thespian dreams are turned on their head by the adventure in the forest. An effervescent Michelle Pfeiffer is ideally cast as Titania; radiating imperious mannerisms and sweet love especially when funnily bewitched by a transformed Bottom. Not only does Pfeiffer look the part, she plays it extremely well and with ethereal poise. Rupert Everett, with his smooth voice and rakish demeanor, makes for an appropriately louche Oberon, whose schemes are both amusingly wicked and benevolent yet flawed. Calista Flockhart is an inspired choice for the part of Helena, emerging both as earnestly passionate but unlucky and wittily sharp. Flockhart’s performance which takes on a tragicomic nature is up there with Kline as one of the standouts within A Midsummer Night’s Dream. An appealing performance of spirit and vivacity is given by the gorgeous Anna Friel, who gets some very good lines as the star-crossed Hermia. Both Dominic West and Christian Bale have fun as Lysander and Demetrius, who more often than not are sparring partners battling for the affections of Helena and Hermia thanks to the magical mix up. Lending impish relish, sprightly naughtiness and hilarious moments is the ever reliable Stanley Tucci portraying Puck, whose attempts at bringing lovers together go rather awry. Now in supporting roles we have David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau, Bernard Hill and Sam Rockwell, who are all actors I very much admire. The trouble is they aren’t utilized  well enough here and the film could have benefited from showing them a bit more.

Purists may balk at the change of setting and it must be said that a few parts of the film could have been trimmed, yet A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a warmly funny and sexy interpretation of the play from the Bard.

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Testament of Youth

Tags

2010's, Alicia Vikander, Based on a true story, Colin Morgan, Dominic West, Drama, Emily Watson, Hayley Atwell, James Kent, Kit Harington, Miranda Richardson, Taron Egerton, Testament of Youth, War

Film Title

Testament of Youth

Director

James Kent

Starring

• Alicia Vikander as Vera Brittain
• Kit Harington as Roland Leighton
• Taron Egerton as Edward Brittain
• Colin Morgan as Victor Richardson
• Emily Watson as Mrs Brittain
• Dominic West as Mr Brittain
• Hayley Atwell as Hope
• Miranda Richardson as Miss Lorimer

A beautifully moving and stirring movie, Testament of Youth recounts the true events in the life of Vera Brittain during the First World War, filled with determination, horror, heartache and self-sacrifice. Powerfully acted and poignant to the core, it’s a well-rendered triumph of emotion and bravery from her memoir.

We begin on Armistice Day and while everyone is celebrating the end of the First World War, Vera Brittain begins to reflect on her own personal experiences. We flashback to 1914, Vera is an independent, passionate and free thinking girl whose attitudes were at odds with her parents ideas of her becoming a respectable lady. Along with her good-hearted brother Edward, friend and secret admirer Victor Richardson and sensitive Roland Leighton, Vera enjoys rebelling against the norms of the time and we first glimpse her swimming in a lake without a care in the world. She has ambitions of becoming a writer, but her shocked parents are not exactly thrilled to hear of these plans. She is encouraged by Roland( who also would like to write but doesn’t quite have the confidence), who she holds a torch for to apply to Oxford because of her dreams and while nervous she does so. When she gets a place at Oxford, she couldn’t be more overjoyed and she makes her intentions clear to Roland, who reciprocates her love. Yet this happiness for Vera proves to be short-lived as the War begins and Roland signs up, along with Edward and Victor. With the world at war and it continuing on longer than expected, Vera tries to go about her studies at Oxford which she fought so long and hard for. But her irrepressible spirit tells her that she must act and sacrificing her place at university, she begins to work as a nurse, which eventually takes her to The Front. Yet the war is a cruel time and one by one, Vera’s life is turned upside down by personal tragedy and turmoil. But the young Vera isn’t broken yet and continues to do her part for the war, while bravely experiencing the utter horrors it can bring.

James Kent contributes an emotionally involving direction to the film. He thankfully doesn’t fall prey to the usual problems of making a true story have an impact on the screen without overdoing it. Testament of Youth isn’t strictly a biopic, it is based on a true story but doesn’t feel episodic like other biopics. It does have elements of a biopic that are thankfully realised with heart and soul. The way that Kent intercuts scenes from a happier time in Vera’s life with the devastating effects of war is assured and heart-wrenching to watch. Aside from this, the use of camerawork puts the audience deep in the heart of the emotional story by often focusing on faces, in particular the changes on Vera’s as the war deals its tragic blow on her. It is a sensitively done movie that doesn’t go for histrionics, instead it opts for subtle emotions that make the story all the more powerful. The closeness of the story makes us feel like we are there and when Vera experiences something, we too feel the exact same way as her. For a movie that centers around war, the battle scenes in Testament of Youth are few and far between. I believe that Kent is more interested in showing the aftermath of the war and the horrific wounds both physical and emotional it can inflict on us. Though it must be said it doesn’t scrimp when showing the horror of war either when Vera is a nurse, which adds a very haunting angle to the movie. Although it is a heartbreaking film and moving in every sense of the word, Testament of Youth does however retain a sense of glimmering hope in the form of Vera. Through her struggles, we witness her transform and eventually see her ultimately become a passionate pacifist, who refuses to forget the fallen. Vera Brittain was such a brave woman and it is shown here how she suffered immense pain, but managed to survive being engulfed by it to write her personal story down for the world to know. There may be romance within the story between Vera and Roland, but it is not a full-blown passionate union. It is a fleeting and tentative romance that only heightens the ultimate tragedy that it later ends in. A beautifully evocative score adds considerable impact to events and seems to act as Vera’s resilient voice as the war rages on and personal suffering surrounds her.

Anchoring the film with a powerful performance is Alicia Vikander as Vera Brittain. Essaying the part with depth, emotional subtlety and strength, we get a real picture of what Vera endured during the war and how it shaped her as a person. Vikander brings passion to the part and never reverts to over the top displays of emotion; the effectiveness of her performance lies in the nuance she gives it and how she doesn’t require a single line of dialogue to get across the intense emotions within her. Kit Harington is very good at portraying Roland, the man who Vera falls in love with and who makes a deep impression on her. His scenes with Vikander are wonderfully acted to say the least and contribute to their doomed romance. Then there is Taron Egerton, who imbues Vera’s brother Edward with a loyalty and sympathy that is sensitively observed. There is a deep honesty to Egerton’s performance that really shows his talent here. Colin Morgan is subtly wonderful as the pining Victor, and there is excellently classy support provided by Emily Watson and Dominic West as Vera’s disapproving parents.  Seen in a small role as a nurse working with Vera on The Front, Hayley Atwell makes the most of the part and Miranda Richardson contributes her usual reliable presence as an Oxford teacher who comes to respect Vera.

Testament of Youth is an emotional recounting of Brittain’s memoir and it does the deeply personal subject matter of suffering, sacrifice and perseverance justice with clarity and a strong lead performance from Alicia Vikander.

Mona Lisa Smile

Tags

2000's, Dominic West, Ginnifer Goodwin, Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Juliet Stevenson, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Mike Newell, Mona Lisa Smile, Period Drama

Film Title

Mona Lisa Smile

Director

Mike Newell

Starring

• Julia Roberts as Katherine Watson
• Kirsten Dunst as Betty Warren
• Julia Stiles as Joan Brandwyn
• Maggie Gyllenhaal as Giselle Levy
• Ginnifer Goodwin as Connie Baker
• Dominic West as Bill Dunbar
• Marcia Gay Harden as Nancy Abbey
• Juliet Stevenson as Amanda Armstrong

It may not offer much in the way of originality in the inspiring teacher style of films and is occasionally meandering ,but Mona Lisa Smile more than makes up for these flaws with its warm-hearted nature, stunning look and excellent work of the predominately female cast, headed by Julia Roberts.

It is the 1950’s and Katherine Watson is a free-thinking art history teacher hired by Wellesley college for young woman for a year. The college is a rigidly formal one that is base on tradition, something which poses a problem for Katherine and her progressive ideas. The girls she teaches are clearly bright and have futures ahead of them, but they have all been brought up and taught that once they finish college and even while they are in it to find a husband and settle down as a housewife. The bohemian Katherine is annoyed by this as she sees clear potential within the young ladies of her class, such as Joan Brandwyn, who has a talent for law, bashful Connie Baker and the vampy Giselle Levy, who relates the most to the way Katherine thinks. And instead of just following the planned syllabus of her class that details she must follow, she goes against this by getting the girls to discuss the nature of art and what the merits of it are.Coming up against opposition, mainly from the opinionated and bitchy Betty Warren who has been spoon fed the idea of being a dutiful wife and being subservient, Katherine continues to instruct the girls of what they could do with their lives and how they could go on to better things than just marriage. Bucking the trend and going against the system, she slowly gains their admiration and respect.

As aforementioned, Mona Lisa Smile is not exactly a groundbreaking movie but neither is it trying to be. Mike Newell brings finesse to the film with his directing, that lets us glimpse a woman inspiring the girls around her to break free from the chains of tradition and see beyond the horizons. Despite the odd mawkish moment and the movie sometimes needed an injection of pace, Mona Lisa Smile remains an engaging film because of the characters and the way it pokes fun at the ridiculously rigid 1950’s and what a woman was expected to do. I liked how although Katherine wants the girls to open up to the idea of going against the norm, she doesn’t force it on them. Instead, through little steps and her lessons, she shows them that they are destined for greatness and not just to become what everyone else tells them they should be. The film to look at it stunning in a rose-tinted way that also serves the purpose of exposing the unhappiness behind the seemingly perfect lifestyles of being a married woman was like. Costume design and scenery is beautifully constructed and a marvel to see. A lilting score from Rachel Portman stunningly compliments the journey of the girls as their minds are opened to the possibility of change from the status quo.

Julia Roberts makes for a sympathetic and coltish lead portraying the inspiring Katherine. The fact that Roberts is largely associated with contemporary movies stands her in good stead here as Katherine is supposed to be a character who stands out against the restrictions of the time. Roberts brings her charm and warmth to the part, along with the desire for change that makes for a great performance. Kirsten Dunst makes an impression as the bitchy but underneath it all blinkered Betty, who constantly berates those around her for trying to be different from what they’ve been told to do. As bitchy and spiteful as the character is, Dunst brings forth the sadness of Betty and how her delusions of a wonderful married life are proved wrong. Her scenes with Roberts are fantastic as the two schools of ideas clash. Julia Stiles has a luminosity that she equips Joan with that makes her relatable as she is caught in the middle ground of following her dreams and sticking to tradition. Maggie Gyllenhaal gets all the best lines as the sexy and rebellious Giselle, who brazenly has affairs, drinks a lot and just doesn’t give a damn about it or what anyone thinks. Gyllenhaal has such a vibrancy about her in this film that is very endearing and mischievous. Ginnifer Goodwin is suitably sweet as the hopelessly romantic Connie, but Dominic West is hopelessly wasted as a potential love interest for Katherine that really doesn’t go anywhere. In supporting roles, Marcia Gay Harden as a buttoned-up elocution teacher and Juliet Stevenson as the disapproving college nurse give class to an already stellar cast.

So while it brings nothing new to the table as such, Mona Lisa Smile is still filled with enough talent and story to make you connect with it.

The Forgotten

Tags

2000's, Alfre Woodard, Anthony Edwards, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Joseph Ruben, Julianne Moore, Linus Roache, Psychological Thriller, Science Fiction, The Forgotten

Film Title

The Forgotten

Director

Joseph Ruben

Starring

• Julianne Moore as Telly Paretta
• Dominic West as Ash Correll
• Gary Sinise as Dr. Jack Munce
• Alfre Woodard as Detective Anne Pope
• Linus Roache as Mr. Shineer
• Anthony Edwards as Jim Paretta

A potentially intriguing premise descends into confusion and disjointed genre melding in The Forgotten, which despite the talent included comes out as a weak and unmemorable movie. Only for a strong turn from Julianne Moore and a suitably eerie score, The Forgotten remains partly watchable.

Telly Paretta is trying to survive the grief of losing her young son Sam in a plane crash fourteen months earlier. No matter how hard she tries, she is haunted by the pain of loss and sadness at losing her beloved son. Her husband Jim thinks it is time that she moves on, but Telly thinks otherwise and continues to cling to the memories of her little boy who was tragically taken from her all those months ago. Then one day Telly wakes up and the strangest thing has happened. The photographs of her and her son are gone. All the tapes of him are blank. And everyone who Telly comes into contact with, even her husband, tells her that they have never heard of her son and that she is delusional. Her psychiatrist Dr Munce explains that Telly has fabricated these memories of ever having a son. Everything that she has experienced up to this point has been a dream or fantasy, according to everyone surrounding her. Bewildered and shocked, Telly knows that she had a son and wants to prove that she is not slipping into madness, despite everyone around her questioning that her boy ever existed. Telly soon finds something of an ally in Ash Correll, who she says had a daughter who died in the same crash. At first, the miserable alcoholic dismisses her claims and won’t listen, but he comes to see that she is right about the whole thing. Now with Telly and Ash searching for the truth, they find mysterious government agents on their tail. And that’s not all, a strange and unexplained force seems to be after them as well. What will be unearthed in Telly’s quest for answers?

Director Joseph Ruben knows how to direct a thriller, but none of that skill is evident here as he tries to straddle the stands of psychological thriller and sci-fi into one. The whole tone of the film suffers and is hellishly disjointed, coming off as a directionless thriller and an X Files reject . This is a shame because the opening sets up what could have been an interesting story, that is wasted and falls short in almost every category there is. The whole basis of a mother searching for her son could have provided a lot of deep emotion here, yet The Forgotten squanders most of the impact. The Forgotten aims to be unpredictable and unexpected, but the script is weak and as the story plods on, it becomes to ludicrous to take seriously. The visuals of moody blue and grey are actually quite well done, but can’t make up for the shortcomings of the film. An ominous and melancholy score, with an underlying electronic edge, adds some much-needed suspense and eeriness to the proceedings.

The saving grace of The Forgotten is the ever-reliable and excellent Julianne Moore. Rising above the multitude of flaws in the story, she invests Telly with emotional clarity and tenacity in her attempts to prove she is right and hopefully discover the truth. Moore is the reason to watch this film as she shines in the part and brings emotive depth and conviction to a hollow film. Unfortunately, none of the other parts are interesting or particularly well-written. Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Linus Roache and Anthony Edwards all have great talent, but the material they are given to work with is abysmal so none of them can make any impact in such sketchy roles.

So except for some striking visuals, melancholy score and Julianne Moore’s performance, The Forgotten should be exactly what the title says.