O (2001) [R] ***

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net.

There are two ways to adapt Shakespeare into a contemporary setting. The first is to take the story and dialogue (perhaps judiciously pruned) and dump them wholesale into modern times. The second is to extract the essence of the material and re-work it for our era. Two recent screen versions of Shakespeare's plays have provided a case study in the contrast between these methods. Michael Almereyda's sluggish, borderline-incoherent Hamlet attempted the former with decidedly mixed results. Tim Blake Nelson's O, based on Othello, takes the latter route, and the result is a stirring and affecting piece of drama that retains the basic structure and thematic grist of its source while developing a plot and characters that speak directly to current-day movie-goers.

In its re-telling of Othello, O re-locates the story into a United States high school, circa 2000. In keeping with the violent nature of Shakespeare, O does not shy away from bloodshed. Quite the contrary, in fact - it embraces it, but not in an exploitative manner. In fact, the film actually provides a measure of insight into how teen violence can be sparked. A simple emotion (in this case, jealousy, but it could be another), unchecked and stoked, forms the foundation. Mixed with the rampant hormones of the teen years, this combination becomes as explosive and unstable as nitroglycerine. Doesn't it make more sense for us to view a thoughtful motion picture like O, digest what has to say, and open a dialogue with our children rather than abdicate responsibility and attempt to blame movies/TV/music (anyone except ourselves and society in general) for school violence?

The Othello of O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the god of the Palmetto Grove Hawks basketball team. He's the lone black student in an all-white co-ed prep school, but he has a good heart, is smart, and is unstoppable on the court. He has won the love of Dean Brable’s (John Heard’s) daughter, Desi Brable (Julia Stiles in the role of Desdemona), and the respect of his teammates - all except one. Hugo Goulding (Josh Hartnett in the role of Iago) is keenly jealous of Odin - not because he's popular or has the affection of Desi, but because Hugo's own father, basketball team head coach Duke Goulding (Martin Sheen), considers Odin to be more of a true son than Hugo. The coach lauds the young black man while pushing aside his offspring, often humiliating Hugo in front of his teammates. This breeds resentment and hatred, and Hugo puts a plan in place to destroy Odin by sowing seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of Desi's love and fidelity. Odin, who is on some level insecure, reluctantly takes the bait.

Obviously, the single most memorable aspect of any Shakespeare play is the dialogue - the Bard is arguably the most quotable author ever to write in the English language. Yet, in an endeavor such as O, where all of those lines have been stripped away, we see the strength and universality of the themes present in the play. Certainly, there are contrivances in the plot, as there are in the original, but these are easily set aside as part of the process commonly referred to as the willing suspension of disbelief. The intent of director Tim Blake Nelson is not to create some bizarre dream world like the one of Ian McKellen's Richard III or Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, but to fashion a dramatic milieu that approximates high school in the '00s. At the same time, he is not looking for a hard-core, gritty reality - the story needs room to breathe.

Someone should introduce Julia Stiles to Kenneth Branagh. One could easily imagine the gifted, versatile Stiles fitting effectively into one of Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations. This is Stiles' third such endeavor, following in the wake of 10 Things I Hate About You (a modern-day telling of The Taming of the Shrew) and Almereyda's Hamlet. Josh Hartnett shows more range here as the tortured, manipulative Hugo than he evidenced in the whole of Pearl Harbor. And, in the title role, Mekhi Phifer allows us to see the good and the bad in Odin, the sports deity with the tragic flaw of jealousy. Supporting roles are filled by Rain Phoenix as Desi's roommate Emily, Elden Henson and Andrew Keegan as elements of Hugo's plan, and Martin Sheen, as the coach with the winning is everything mentality.

O was filmed in Charleston, S.C. in March-April, 1999. In fact, Julia Stiles, who was born on March 28, 1981, turned 18 during filming. The film was ready to be released in 1999, when Miramax Films, the company that owned the rights at the time, shelved it because they feared the controversy that would accompany it in the wake of the Columbine tragedy. Had the film been exploitative rather than thought-provoking, that would have been the right decision, but Miramax, fearing bad publicity, ignored the fact that this picture has a message. Eventually, Lions Gate picked up the rights and the movie was able to see the light of day. And that's a good thing for everyone who appreciates Shakespeare or a serious examination of the volatile issue of school violence. [Berardinelli’s rating: 3 stars out of 4 = 75%]

Labels: drama, high-school, Julia Stiles, romance, teenager, thriller, tragedy
IMDb 61/100 
MetaScore (critics=53, viewers=28) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=61, viewers=68) 
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