O (2001)

How sparkling this was, to claim it as an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, but turns out to be a banal movie with no nuances and full of preposterous, idiotic, teenage revenge plagued with unprofessional acting and choppy dialogues. There are no depth to each character. Either they are evil beyond belief or frustratingly naive. Quit halfway of movie. If in the end all these teenagers die, I had to admit that they deserve it for their stupidity. Very, very, poor acting. So basically, the main character just become frustrated with his girl because she lost some stupid handkerchief. Then the main protagonist says he can't live without a girl. Cliché indeed. How many times have we witness a movie where dumb teenagers only talk about relationship and how popular you are, and being all jealousy about each other... ha ha, and kill each other because of hackneyed matter. Tired indeed.

The only reason I don't give this a zero out of 10 is the fact that Julia Stiles is excellent in her role, as is Josh Hartnett. But as to being a brilliant reworking of Othello that adapts to show the dangers of teen-age violence, envy, jealousy and lust? I think not. Virtually everyone in this melodramatic update is an overdone caricature of who they play in the movie. While the bullying scenes and picking on the dweeb are accurate enough, they are followed by a succession of stupid decisions by everyone involved in the plot. Even Julia Stiles' attraction to "O" and his monstrous ego is annoyingly dumb, but then hey... that's the story. The interracial aspect adds nothing to the story either. As a lesson depicting the evils of teen violence, it doesn't work. There's far too much cunning for a teen ager by Hartnett's character, and far, far too much gullible idiocy by "O". The only thing I took away from this movie is bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and the thought that I am SO glad Martin Sheen was as good as he was on West Wing and won't be remembered for this disaster.

Odin James (Mekhi Phifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove, a private school in the Deep South. He is the star of the basketball team, is dating Desi (Julia Stiles) daughter of the school's dean, and is loved by teachers, coaches, and students. All that is, except Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the insanely jealous son of the basketball coach (Martin Sheen). Enlisting the help of hopeless outcast Rodger (Elden Hanson) and his girlfriend Emily (Rain Phoenix), Hugo launches a convoluted scheme to destroy Odin's life, convincing him that Desi is cheating on him and also turning him against best friend Mike Cassio (Andrew Keegan). Odin's jealousy eventually gets the better of him, and a tragic conclusion becomes inevitable.Adapting Shakespeare for teens is a process that generally strikes me as intellectual masturbation or pompous self-importance. The themes of Shakespeare's plays are so universal and more importantly oft-copied that claiming descent from Shakespeare seems like a desperate attempt to add class to an otherwise typical film. Luhrman's "Romeo+Juliet" was a loud, flashy mess, redeemed only by its lead actors. "Ten Things I Hate About You" and "She's the Man" were disposable fun but more or less interchangeable with any number of other teen flicks, and in any case bearing only tertiary relation with their source material. I'm not impressed with "She's the Man" claiming descent from "Twelfth Night" because its basic story has been done five million times since.However, O stands above these films, despite a few notable flaws, namely the ending. Tim Blake Nelson adapts what is (in my opinion) Shakespeare's greatest tragedy Othello into a modern setting with surprising skill, keeping the spirit and themes of the play intact and even adding additional layers to it.Shakespeare's play is as much about the villainous Iago as it Othello. Despite his wickedness, Iago is a sympathetic character; he is clearly a tormented man with inner demons he doesn't know how to face. In this film, Hugo has additional motivation beyond merely being passed over for promotion (or acknowledgment as MVP). His father barely acknowledges his existence, while embracing Odin as "the son I never had". As despicable as Hugo's actions are, it's easy to see what would drive him to such extremes.Also added is an exploration high school caste system. Usually dealt with in a truncated and comic fashion, it is devastatingly portrayed here. Rodger, Hugo's accomplice, is the son of one of the school's contributors, but also a geek who is beat up and picked on by pretty much everyone. There is a painful scene where Cassio torments him at a basketball game until he leaves. Hugo's alienation from his team mates is also a major factor, and it's easy to see why many people thought of Columbine when the film was released. People cast out by society are likely to their revenge, and this film shows that with devastating effect.Perhaps inevitably, the movie gives more weight to Odin's race than the source material did. The film features several sex scenes, including a disturbing one at mid-point where Odin's jealous begins to take hold in the middle of coitus - a scene that is both disturbing and effective. Odin is a model student, a great player, and liked by almost everyone in spite of his race, and yet as Hugo's scheme begins he begins reverting to stereotypes - he does drugs, is violent and moody, and at the end is driven to murderous rage. Odin is a victim as much of his own demons as Hugo, and the movie does an excellent job showing that.The biggest problem with the film is the end. Although abbreviated, the movie does a good job following the original text, and the film is perfectly paced. Until the climax. The decision to reduce the last two acts into a brief montage scene was a mistake, and ruined the pacing of the film. Odin's monologue at the end justifying his actions would have been more powerful if the movie hadn't just leaped into it.The cast is uniformly solid. Mekhi Phifer is powerful as Odin; his portrayal of Odin as a victim of his own insecurities is spot-on, and he is a thoroughly believable character throughout. Josh Hartnett, whom I've never rated as much of an actor, surprised me with a powerful performance as the treacherous Hugo. Julia Stiles' part as Desi is underwritten but Stiles cannot be faulted for that, and as always her performance is top-notch. Andrew Keegan, Rain Phoenix, and Elden Hanson also create memorable characters. Martin Sheen and John Heard are effective as the two most prominent adult cast members.Despite the ending, "O" is definitely the best of the teen adaptations of Shakespeare. The spirit of the original play is kept intact, and the characters are adapted well into a modern context. Definitely worth a look.7/10

This is a wonderful interpretation of Shakespeare's "Othello" I am impressed. Josh Hartnett would have deserved an Oscar nominee for Hugo's role, he did a very impressive job. As an actor, I believe he is very capable and talented. Mekhi Phifer is to me an unknown actor, but I think he was right casted in his role as Odin. On the other hand, Julia Stiles seemed to me just playing like she always does, she doesn't seem to be a very popular girl in that school, as it was supposed to be, she just seems to be this geeky lovesick girl with a basketball star boyfriend. Then it is Andrew Keegan and his decent acting, not to good, but not bad also.Not just the cast was good, but the crew also. "O" has a way of showing you that these are problems that even teenagers might have, like jealousy. But also it has a way of reminding that it's a movie based on a Shakespearian tragedy. In the end you have that feeling that only a Shakespeare work can bring... I give this movie a 10 with all my heart.