And the Shakespeare renaissance continues.

Assembling an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cast, director Michael Hoffman mounts his handsome, but uneven, production of Shakespeare's most popular (and oft-performed) comedy. Updated from ancient Greece to early 20th century Tuscany, this version of Dream is stridently whimsical and a visual delight that, unfortunately, seems a little lacking in the emotional department.

The very complex plot roughly occurs over a two day period. On the eve of the wedding between Duke Theseus (David Strathairn) and Queen Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau), the Duke is called upon to adjudicate on a matter. Hermia's (Anna Friel) enraged father insists that his daughter must marry Demetrius (Christian Bale), rather than be allowed to pursue her true love Lysander (Dominic West) - according to custom, Hermia must either follow her father's wishes, or face a life in a nunnery or death. Theseus upholds the tradition, a decision which upsets Hippolyta. Meanwhile, Helena (Calista Flockhart) is besotted with Demetrius, and tries all means to win his favor, but to no avail. Upon being told that Hermia and Lysander intend to elope, Helena informs Demetrius, and the four young lovers set off into the night - an enchanted world prevailed over by Oberon (Rupert Everett), the fairy king, and his queen Titania (Michelle Pfeiffer). The two of them are feuding because of a fairy child, and to punish Titania, Oberon sends Robin Goodfellow/Puck (Stanley Tucci) to retrieve a flower that will bewtich her into falling in love with the first living object she sets her eyes on upon awakening from her nap. This lucky object of Titania's devotion comes in the form of Bottom (Kevin Kline), the village weaver who had come into the forest to rehearse a farcical play with his friends which they had intended to perform during Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. Puck, using fairy dust, turns Bottom into a donkey, and Oberon laughs at his queen's folly. Meanwhile, Puck also uses the nectar from the flower upon Demetrius and Lysander, to consequently hilarious results as who loves whom in the foursome soon becomes unclear. Eventually, everything is settled by the wedding day, and, as another of Shakespeare's plays puts it, "all's well that end's well".

Evidently, Shakespeare's play had more plot twists and happenings than your average Hollywood production. Skilfully truncating long passages of the text, while retaining the best bits (all the famous lines from this play remain intact), Hoffman - who, strangely, gave himself a screenwriting credit on this film - has fashioned a film that is faithful in tone and mood to the original. His outdoor scenes, filmed on location in the beautiful Tuscan countryside, are infused with the golden glow that makes everything seem warm, radiant and inviting. The forest scenes, filmed in an elaborately constructed studio, are given some special effects help to exude a magical, enchanted quality. However gorgeous the film looks, there is a rushed feeling to the proceedings - too much seems to happen too quickly, and the audience is denied the joy of savoring every moment as Shakespeare had intended.

Hoffman's handling of his large, diverse cast, also raises some difficulties. Faring best are Shakespearean veteran Kline and Pfeiffer. By giving Bottom a major presence in the film, Hoffman has wisely given his most accomplished cast member more to work with, and Kline rises to the challenge, turning what is often a buffoonish oaf of a character into a bemused, melancholic creature who cannot reconcile his dreams of grandeur with the harsh reality by the light of day. In every scene that he appears, Kline lends an emotional depth to the proceedings - this is exceptional work, considering his character is written as a one-dimensional fool. Pfeiffer is made up to look like a Botticelli goddess, all beautiful tresses and exquisite features, and she doesn't so much deliver her lines as she seems to breathe them in a seductive, regal whisper. Her Titania is entrancing and spell-binding, and Pfeiffer truly seems netherworldly in her performance.

Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci give interesting spins to their characters. Everett's Oberon is suitably regal and haughty, but seems a little bored and sleepy with what is going on around him. Tucci's Puck, unlike so many others before him, is far from hyper-active - Tucci makes Puck seem mischievious but meek, incompetent rather than wilfully meddlesome, and this interpretation is fresh, if not entirely suitable in the context of the story.

The four actors who play the young lovers are harder to adjudge, simply because they seem so interchangeable. As is often the case, these four characters become lost in the proceedings. Anna Friel, so fiery and insolent on Broadway's "The Closer", is content to emit weak flames as Hermia, the wronged lover. In contrast to her, Calista Flockhart's Helena seems like a screeching psycho. There is no doubt that Flockhart is a capable actress - one need only watch her performance in "Telling Lies in America" for proof - but her performance here seems bizarre and jarring, and this may be more the fault of the director than hers. Of the two men, Christian Bale is reduced to a series of reaction shots. His dashing countenance isn't given much play, which is a pity, because given more time, his Demetrius could have been a more interesting character. Dominic West romps through most of the movie naked, and that says enough about his contribution to the overall proceedings.

The actors most under-served by Hoffman's vision in this production are Strathairn and Marceau. The former seems stiff and bored by his lines, while Marceau barely registers a presence and often seems lost. It is telling that Sam Rockwell (in a small role) and Max Wright (who hardly says a thing) leave stronger individual impressions than Strathairn and Marceau combined.

Michael Hoffman's previous period piece was the underrated "Restoration", and it is a pity that this version of Dream seems so diffuse and patchy. There is a lot going on visually, and some of the performers are interesting (if not exactly fun) to watch. Something just doesn't seem to gel in the entire production, and that is the saddest thing of all - to have all the ingredients but not mix them up into the right concoction. For all the promise it shows, this Dream should have been much more resplendent and enjoyable.