Film Review: O (2001)

In late 1990s Hollywood, always in search of new trends to exploit, began to churn out adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays set in modern US high schools. Most of those plays were comedies, but there were some exceptions. And one of those exceptions had misfortune of being made during the mass hysteria following Columbine High School massacre, which made studio executives extremely vary of showing any content that connected teenagers with violence. It was O, drama directed by Tim Blake Nelson and based on famous tragedy Othello. Made in 1999, it was shelved by Miramax until the film’s producers managed to get it released through Lionsgate two years later.

The plot takes place at elite private high school in American South. Its only black student is Odin James (played by Mekhi Phifer) who owes this to basketball talent. Odin leads his school’s team from victory to victory and that brings him NBA career prospects and love of Desi Brable (played by Julia Stiles), the most popular girl in school. But not everyone is happy about it. Hugo Goulding (played by Josh Hartnett) is resentful over Odin taking his place in the team. Driven by sick ambition and envy, Hugo finds weak spot in his rival and devises plan how to remove him. He pretends to be his friend and convinces him that Desi is cheating on him with his team mate Michael Cassio (played by Andrew Keegan). Odin at first doesn’t believe Hugo, but jealousy and paranoia gradually takes over, making Odin act in ways that would not only cost him his friends and career, but also lead to tragic bloodbath.

While the success of lighthearted films like 10 Things I Hate About You (in which Julia Stiles also played prominent role) suggest that high school milieu of contemporary America is most suitable for comedies, few would thinks the same of Bard’s tragedies. But this isn’t as far-fetched as many would think at first glance. Raging hormones, frustrations and immaturity of teen students are fertile ground for bizarre and often bloody plots characteristic of so-called “Elizabethan tragedies”. Screenwriter Brad Kaaya (who was partially inspired by his experience as the only African American student in elite white school) and director Tim Blake Nelson (until that time known mostly as character actor) have preserved the essence of Shakespeare’s plot, but the names of characters were changed and Shakespeare’s archaic language was replaced with modern prose. They also used opportunity to speak a little about certain contemporary realities of American schools – obsession with sports at the expense of everything else, which often leads to drug abuse, intrigues, corruption and violence. Although Kaaya went a little too far trying to explain plot through some cheap pop psychology in scenes featuring Hugo and his father (played by Martin Sheen), O is unusually effective and rather intelligent work. It could be commended for very talented cast, among which Mekhi Phifer stands out as long suffering protagonist, while Josh Hartnett does great work as a villain from whose perspective the audience sees events in the film. All in all, O represents one of the better examples of a modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s works.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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