O

Rating:
Summary: Poor Shakespeare
Review: If Shakespeare could come back to life and see what they made with his play "Othello", he would remove Heaven and Earth crying out for justice. Be an actor in a play of Shakespeare it's difficult and only the best ones can do it, not mediocre actors with face of children. What's Martin Sheen doing here? He should be in better movies and in this trash, if you want a good "Othello" adaptation, get the movie with Kenneth Brannag and Laurence Fishburne, are good actors and a better movie.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful drama
Review: I thought this was a great drama though I have never seen the Shakespeare play Othello but I'll have to compare the to sometimes.But by an hour of it being on I had warter in my eyes and by the credits I was crying.It was very dramatic and tear breaking.I was also crying at the credits because this movie was good.So if you want to cry I'd recomend this ,if you want a movie that was a play buy annie.

Rating:
Summary: Othello is quite a fellow
Review: This movie is great, and one of the oddest films i've seen in awhile, much like the book. What's amazing is the book is put in modern times with the same story and it works. I'm so glad that they didn't stray from the book, as most Shakespeare movies do; they keep it true as the author meant. Another great thing about this movie is that it is fantastically acted. Phifer is fantastic as Othello, and puts on screen all the rage that reading just can't act out. His anger, as written in the book, is portrayed very, very well. And Julia Stiles also is fantastic as his lover whom he loves, and with whom she loves just as much, yet can't do anything about the unknown false information that Othello(oden) is being fed. He's suspicious and she has no idea why. if only his jealousy wouldn't have gotten so far, but it did...
What's so true about the movie, and book, is that the one who does wrong always gets off the easy way. Everyone dies but the criminal, everyone faces his punishment, yet the irony is the criminal is the one that faces no pain. IT is amazing irony. Good movie

Rating:
Summary: O, if only other renditions could be as fine as this!
Review: Those who are familiar with the play Othello will have no trouble guessing what happens in this dark tale of jealously and desire. How it happens, though, is a completely different story, and it is interesting to see how this timeless classic plays itself out.

O is an excellent (albeit haunting) rendition of the Shakespeare play, with Mekhi Pheiffer in the title role as the stellar athlete Odin (Othello) who finds himself the only black student at an elite boarding school. Josh Hartnett is Hugo (Iago), the jealous, brooding teammate who tries to steal Odin's fire. Julia Styles is Desi (Desdemona), and the rest of the cast does an excellent job of rounding this trio out.

There were two things about this movie which are of some importance. The scarf, for one (which also appears in the play). It seems to take on a life of its own, as Odin becomes more and more outraged at the idea that Desi might be cheating on him with his teammate Mike, the passion becoming so consuming that he can't control himself. The other was the hawk, the school mascot. Hugo compares himself and Odin repeatedly to the hawk- how the hawk has to soar and be independent.

The movie does an excellent job of transposing Shakespeare's ideas to the big screen and into modern language. Take, for example, the scene in which Hugo tries to plant seeds of doubt in Odin's mind about his girlfriend's fidelity. Here, the schene takes place in a weight room, and Josh Harnett, in that kind of sexy, seductive way he has, is wonderfully sly and manipulative. In this he does a far better job than Kenneth Branaugh did in the 1995 film.

Rating:
Summary: Keeping The Bard In The Ballgame
Review: OK, everybody will agree "O" really is Othello and release was held due to PR fears about the American school shootings...Columbine, Jonesboro, Pearl MS.....so what's special about this Shakespeare update? Simple, it's as well done as "10 Things" with the intense feel of Branagh's Othello version. Just because the Bard did all the great scripts first, doesn't mean this generation's interpretations won't be original and won't add to the legend. So quit reading this and just get the film.....you will remember it along with the rest of your favorites....and you can love or hate Shakespeare and that statement will still hold true.

Rating:
Summary: Jealousy
Review: Modern directors have found a way of connecting great literature to younger audiences by putting recasting the context -- this is not a corruption, for indeed Shakespeare and other literary giants have had their work adapted for the times, and for different times, on stage and screen numerous times. Perhaps the best comparison here is the adaptation of the French 'Dangerous Liaisons' to the modern, urban 'Cruel Intentions'. One of the best places for playing out unbridled passion isn't the corporate boardroom or courtroom or political venue, but the intensely emotional and unrestrained world of teenagers and high school. It is into this context that director Tim Blake Nelson (also known for his acting in 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' and 'Holes') and screenwriter Brad Kaaya updated Shakespeare's play of jealousy and betrayal, Othello.

While Mekhi Phifer is the title player ('O', actually Odin James, the modern Othello), Josh Hartnett in the supporting role of Hugo (Iago) steals the show. Odin is a black basketball player in a private, mostly-white southern prep school, in love with the dean's daughter, and the star of the basketball team, setting up rivalries in the team based both on abilities and racial lines. Hugo is jealous of Odin's popularity, skill and preferential treatment by all, even Hugo's own father, Duke Goulding (Martin Sheen), the basketball coach. Hugo decides to ruin Odin, his jealousy becoming contagious of a sort to influence his roommate Roger, his own girlfriend Emily (Rain Phoenix), Odin's best friend Michael, and finally Odin's girlfriend, the dean's daughter, Desi (Desdimona, played by Julia Stiles).

This is an underappreciated gem. The language is not Shakespearean (so comparisons to the recent diCaprio Romeo + Juliet fail here), but the situations are most assuredly from Shakespeare's story. The ever-increasing layers of manipulation, as situations seem to grow out of control and each seem to take a life of their own, are dizzying and subtle, strong and astonishing.

The direction is slow and steady, as if the very pace of the film shares the slow but deepening growth of Hugo/Iago's dark desires. The styles of the southern prep school, the soundtrack shifting from urban rap to darkening orchestral backing, and the earnest performances of the actors all combine to make this a stunning piece. The ending, both the planning by Hugo, manipulating others into his intentions, as well as the actual ending is surprising but understandable. Human emotions remain constant across the centuries.

There was controversy given the high-school context and violence in this film, and it was shelved for several years, having completed production for release about the time of the Columbine High School shootings. The fears of comparison were overblown, as the situations in this film are very different. Released in 2001 to theatres, it serves as a reminder to modern audiences of how earnest and passionate teen-age emotions can be, and how timeless and universal darker passions such as jealousy can be.