My main criticism is that it takes too long to end… the
final third is slow, and we get three or four codas when one or two would have
been fine. I also think there are too
many bicycle horn honks in the second half.
But there's always something gorgeous to look at on screen.
Little touches I enjoyed: the old dusty law book that lists
the "ancient privilege of Athens," Hippolyta angry at Theseus until
he supports Hermia at the end, Demetrius closing the shutters on Helena, the
donkey that crosses the screen just before we see Bottom for the first time, the
boys with the wine, the fairy tavern featuring music by Simon Boswell, the
fairies' fascination with Victorian technology, the profusion of kisses at the
banquet, the workmen's prayer to Mary before the play-within-a-play, the
bricked-up casement window, Peter Quince's reacting off stage to the mishaps on
the stage, Flute's pulling off the wig when he speaks his lines well, and the
dog landing in stuffy Philostrate's lap.
