Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night, Woody Allen’s 11th film as writer/director is A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, an amusing bedroom farce featuring a sextet of characters intermingling their feelings and their bodies at an upstate New York country house circa early 20th century.
Buy A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy Blu-rayDescribed as “a philosopher, an art critic… [and] an outspoken pacifist,” Leopold (Jose Ferrer), who doesn’t believe in the metaphysical and thinks those who do “are too weak to accept the world as it is,” is set to be married to Ariel (Mia Farrow) at his cousin’s Adrian’s (Mary Steenburgen) country house.
Ariel is married to Andrew (Woody Allen), an investment analyst and self-described “crackpot inventor.” He has built a flying machine and a spirit ball “that penetrates the unseen world” and magically projects images. The sex life between them is bad to non-existent. When Andrew learns Ariel will be coming, he is startled but denies knowing her when in fact she had been to the house once years ago.
Rounding out the characters are Andrew’s friend, Maxwell (Tony Roberts), a philandering doctor, and his guest, free-spirited Nurse Dulcy (Julie Hagerty), whose modern thinking allows her to share a room with him because she’s a philanderer as well.
While Adrian wishes to find a way to rekindle her sex life, Andrew reveals to Ariel he still lusts for her, regretting he never made a move on her, which Ariel states she would have been open to. Maxwell also has feelings for Ariel and wants to get her alone. Meanwhile, Leopold requests Dulcy’s company before his bachelorhood ends because he would never break his vows once married. Dulcy is intrigued by the idea.
The plot takes twists and turns that evolve naturally as the characters react to and interact with one another. The audience is uncertain who will partner with whom by the end, with the relationships resolving satisfyingly. The script is dialogue heavy and could be a play. The actors are believable in their roles and the characters play off each other well. The dialogue is authentic as the characters offer different insights into their psyches and their relationships. The humor is organic from the characters and situations as opposed to feeling the author is forcing a series of jokes upon the audience.
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The production design uses a lot of beige as seen in the costumes. The lush greens of the foliage is the strongest bit of color. Blacks are inky, although they noticeably shot day for night when the characters ran through the woods in a pivotal sequence. Focus is a tad soft but it evokes the era.
The audio is available in DTS-HD MA mono. Dialogue is clear as are the limited effects. The classical music on the soundtrack, four Mendelssohn pieces recorded by three different symphony orchestras, comes through with great clarity.
There are no extras.
A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy is a whimsical comedy for those looking for light, romantic fare. The Blu-ray delivers a satisfying high-definition presentation from a source that doesn’t require much from the format.
