O (2001) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/
"All my life, I've always wanted to fly."
Starring Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Andrew Keegan, Elden Henson, Martin Sheen. Directed by Tim Blake Nelson. Rated R.
Shakespeare has been subjected to numerous so-called "adaptations" in recent years. They usually go something like this: a screenwriter takes the storyline from one of the Bard's plays, sticks it in a modern setting, fills it with teenybobber stars, and finds some way for it to be set in a high school. 10 Things I Hate About You skewered The Taming of the Shrew and Get Over It tinkered with A Midsummer Night's Dream for its own nefarious ends. O, directed by Tim Blake Nelson, was actually filmed before both of these, but was delayed after the Columbine shootings made Miramax apprehensive about releasing an Othello with teenagers. All the hubbub is misleading: the violence that punctuates the film isn't graphic or gratuitous, and the movie doesn't exploit Shakespeare's play but demonstrates its startling relevance.
Othello is now Odin (Mekhi Phifer), the star basketball player of a rich, secluded prep school (also the only black kid in said school), where the students have apartments and friendship can quickly turn into politics. He is given a prestigious award by the riled-up coach (Martin Sheen), and promptly shares it with his friend, colleague, and co-star, Michael (Cassio; Andrew Keegan). This casts a long shadow on second-rate player Hugo (a pre-Pearl Harbor Josh Hartnett), who is jealous that the coach - his father - showers attention on Odin and Michael while he is left wholly out of the spotlight.
So Hugo - playing the part of Iago, of course - sets out to ruin Odin and get rid of Michael in the process. He enlists Roger (a.k.a. Roderigo), a bullied, insecure young man, to make it look like Odin's girlfriend Desi (Desdemona; Julia Stiles) is fooling around with Michael on the side. What follows is known to everyone who has read the play: trappings, misunderstandings and sinister plots eventually drive O very nearly insane, culminating in a climax of characteristic Shakespearean violence.
O has the conviction to stick very close to Othello's original story in the face of inevitable objections to the way it plays when brought into present day. I can envision this happening; if not in a high school, then definitely at a university, where athletic competition reaches an absurd level. Remarkably, I can't remember any moments that seemed glaringly phony; if the business about the handkerchief seemed a bit trivial, it was kind of silly in Shakespeare's setting as well.
Nor does the film wimp out at the end; the stabbings turn into shootings, and the strangling takes place as you would expect. The build-up to the climax is so strong, that even though we expect the murders, the sudden turn to violence is still jarring. The ending provides no closure or comfort; no pat justification for what took place to settle everything nicely in the viewer's mind. Like in the best films, and the best plays, we are forced to figure it out for ourselves.
Or maybe there's nothing to figure out. An undercurrent in the film seems to be that this is the natural course of human events, slightly exaggerated: competition creates jealousy, jealousy escalates and turns into malice, which becomes violence. It's a chilling sentiment, but a daring one.
Josh Hartnett is especially strong in a film filled with good performances; he needs to take more edgy projects like this and less autopilot blockbusters like Pearl Harbor. I also liked Elden Henson as Roger, a role that carries real emotional weight and emphasizes sides of the character that were ignored or subdued in Othello. Director Tim Blake Nelson, himself an actor (you may remember him as one of George Clooney's dimwitted companions in O Brother, Where Art Thou?), knew how to handle his youthful cast, though Julia Stiles looked somewhat uncomfortable.
O is about teens but, like Ghost World, it is not a "teen movie." It is a powerful film, and a real one, making the case that even without the Olde English, Shakespeare's plots don't go stale.
Grade: A-
Up Next: Hearts in Atlantis
©2001 Eugene Novikov
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