"O"

reviewed by: ReelReviewz@aol.com

 

 

MOVIE BIASES: I LOVE the play, but is this merely Shakespeare for dummies?
MAJOR PLAYERS: Mekhi Phifer (Soul Food), Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor), Julia Stiles (Save the Last Dance), and director Tim Blake Nelson (actor, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?).

I have some pretty thick biases about this movie. I have watched with disgust as Hollywood has soullessly raped and pillaged classical literary works, gutting them of all classiness by replacing them with shallow, empty, whorish attempts to capitalize on the teenquake box office potential (re: Save the Last Dance (Romeo and Juliet), 10 Things I Hate about You (Taming of the Shrew), She's All That (Pygmalion), etc.). Also, I played the title character of "Othello" in a stage production two years ago so the play ranks as one of my absolute favorites. With the long delayed "O," a teenage adaptation based on the Shakespearean tragedy of "Othello" that sat on the shelf for two years due to the Columbine and Santana high school shootings, would this movie prove to be yet another trifling bastardization of the literary canon or a marriage of visual and literary storytelling?

Odin James (Phifer) is a high school American for the Palmetto Grove Hawks, a private, all-white high school in Charleston, SC. Not only is he the token Negro, but also he's the star of the basketball team, dating the headmaster's daughter (and most popular girl in school), Desi (Stiles), and bound to deliver a state championship for his coach, Duke (Martin Sheen). Duke's son, attention-starved, steroid popping, overlooked utility-man Hugo (Hartnett), sets in motion a plan to not only destroy the sweet innocent romance between Desi and Odin, but also to destroy Odin's peace of mind by feeding him the green-eyed monster of jealousy. Once Hugo has it in Odin's mind that Desi is cheating on him with his best friend Michael Cassio (Andrew Keegan), everyone's life becomes terribly perilous.

I have had my doubts about Mekhi Phifer in the past. Quite honestly, he never really moved me and I thought he was overrated. Finally, he puts this misconception of mine to bed with some serious, powerful work as "O." The glowering intensity required by this updated Moor of Venice is effectively juxtaposed with the love he feels for Desi. The chemistry between Stiles and Phifer is definitely there, aided by a bang up script by Brad Kaaya that convincingly transports the Shakespearean classic scene by scene into the insecure world of American prep high school. Phifer's inevitable meltdown in latter half of the movie is real and authentic.

Most people who know "Othello" know that the movie is, arguably, more a showcase for Iago than for Othello. In this respect, Josh Hartnett does not disappoint. As Hugo, Hartnett's silently mischievous, steely brown eyes convey the jealous disgust of a son who is consistently passed over for Odin by his own father. Whereas in the play Iago's jealousy has many smaller, intangible motives that never really add up to why he "hates the Moor" so dang much, "O"'s Hartnett gives Hugo an all too tangible reason to hate him - he just wants to soar like a hawk (get it?) and be appreciated like Odin is overappreciated. This excellent, heartbreakingly perfect portrayal of Iago proves that Josh Hartnett, at his matted hair best, is an acting phenom lying in wait.

Overall, "O" is powerful and exhilarating to watch. Nelson gives us haunting, visual storytelling that uses voiceovers, dream sequences, and visual metaphor to chilling, potent effect. The much ballyhooed teen violence is not so shocking if you know the story of "Othello," but I can see why the distributors wanted some time and space from the real life high school murders. Armed with a hot hip hop soundtrack, convincing basketball action, and nicely staged dramatic moments, this movie is more accessible to the teenage moviegoer who probably would not tread through five acts of iambic pentameter. Exceptional in its own right, "O" is not "Othello" for dummies - it's "Othello" for the new millennium.

@@@@ REELS
(FOUR REELS)
An urban legend/instant classic.

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