Themes: Dangerous Friends, Boarding School Life, Basketball Players
Main Cast: Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Elden Henson, Andrew Keegan
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A modernized retelling of William Shakespeare's Othello, O changes its setting to an elite private school in the American South. Odin (Mekhi Phifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove and also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. A popular student, he is dating Desi Brable (Julia Stiles), the daughter of the school's dean (John Heard), and they are deeply devoted to each other despite their different backgrounds. His best friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett) is a starter on the basketball team, and the son of the hard-driving coach Duke Goulding (Martin Sheen), who considers Odin as much his son as Hugo. Hugo is jealous of Odin's widespread popularity, so he hatches a scheme to ruin Odin's reputation with the help of Roger (Elden Henson), his rich roommate who will do anything to be popular and get Desi's attention. Through carefully planned revenge, he begins to make Odin believe that Desi is carrying out an affair with teammate Michael (Andrew Keegan). As Odin begins to receive merely coincidental signs to prove it, he begins to slowly lose his grounding and turns to Hugo for help, not knowing that he is being set up. As the basketball season comes to a close, Odin's jealousy begins to consume him, resulting in the loss of everything he cares about the most. O was sometime actor Tim Blake Nelson's directorial follow-up to his well-received debut Eye of God. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Review
Tim Blake Nelson's searing modern update of Shakespeare's Othello drops the old tale into the present-day school system, attempting to make some sense out of the senselessness that pervades violent tendencies. Working from a complex, expertly detailed screenplay by promising newcomer Brad Kaaya, the filmmakers translate the story with ease without making it too earnest or preachy. The film's stance on the tough subject matter is surprisingly even-handed and the movie works on an overall intelligence level unparalleled in most teen dramas of late, especially those commenting on race relations, which O manages to incorporate into the proceedings far better than the 1995 Oliver Parker-Laurence Fishburne feature. As the teenage versions of Othello and Iago, Mekhi Phifer and Josh Hartnett give beautifully resonant performances, the former simultaneously conflicted and menacing, the latter using his naturally shifty persona to create a most effective villain, but one who manages to remain convincingly human. In yet another case of a studio not knowing what it had, the film gestated for nearly two years at Miramax Films (which sat on it to prevent controversy surrounding violence in schools, a big topic for the period) before Lions Gate Films finally agreed to distribute the feature in 2001. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Rain Phoenix - Emily; John Heard - Dean Brable; Chris Freihofer - Assistant Coach; Martin Sheen - Coach Dale Goulding; A.J. Johnson - Dell; Christopher Dong - Dutchman Player; Rachel Schumate - Brandy; Marshall Gitter - Radio Announcer; Lisa Benavides - Ms. Serney; Ken French - Scout #1; Dana Ratliff - T. V. Announcer; Christopher Jones - Jason; Ronalda Stover - Woman Score Keeper; Kelvin O'Bryant - Ball Boy; Jack "Jay" Munn - Lanny; Mike Flippo - Mr. Bradley; James Middleton - Cop; Julie Fishell - Newscaster; Wally Welch - Mr. Kirby; Zack David - Basketball Player (Hawks); James Galloway - Basketball Player (Hawks); Michael Givens - Basketball Player (Hawks); Chase Page - Basketball Player (Hawks); Rick Streeter - Basketball Player (Hawks); Doug Ayers - Basketball Player (Hawks); Dal Conner - Basketball Player (Dutchmen); David Dooley - Basketball Player (Dutchmen); Justin Ferira - Basketball Player (Dutchmen); Jaime Ingram - Basketball Player (Dutchmen); Jantz Baker - Basketball Player (Titans); Jerred Clarke - Basketball Player (Titans); Christopher Grooms - Basketball Player (Titans); Shawn Hill - Basketball Player (Titans); Parker Kirby - Basketball Player (Titans); Sean Murphy - Basketball Player (Titans); Jon Rosenbloom - Basketball Player (Titans); Derek Zieminsky - Basketball Player (Titans); Richard Grandison - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Evan Jones - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Errol McPherson - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Nathan Monroe - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Tony Moore - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Bernard Smalls - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Quintrai Washington - Basketball Player (Bullsdogs); Josh Thorpe - Student Basketball Manager
Credit
Jack Ballance - Art Director, Brad Kaaya - Associate Producer, Avy Kaufman - Casting, Jill M. Ohanneson - Costume Designer, Tom Tucker - First Assistant Director, Tim Blake Nelson - Director, Kate Sanford - Editor, Michael Levy - Executive Producer, Jeff Danna - Composer (Music Score), Barry Cole - Musical Direction/Supervision, Dina Goldman - Production Designer, Russell Fine - Cinematographer, David Schlesinger - Set Designer, Tom Myers - Sound/Sound Designer, Brad Kaaya - Screenwriter
The film's intended release date coincided with the Columbine High School massacre, so the film was shelved. It was finally released later in 2001. It was directed by Tim Blake Nelson and written by Brad Kaaya. It contains many different styles of music, ranging from rap to opera. It was filmed in South Carolina.
Told in a contemporary high school setting, Othello is now Odin (Mekhi Phifer), star of the basketball team and the school's only African American student. Desdemona is Desi (Julia Stiles), the dean's daughter and Odin's girlfriend. Iago is Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's steroid-addicted son, who plants seeds of doubt that fester in Odin's mind, leading them all to a tragically violent fate. Roderigo is Roger (Elden Henson), Hugo's best friend, a rich but troubled student who wants to go out with Desi. Cassio is Michael Cassio (Andrew Keegan), another basketball player and a close friend to both Odin and Desi. Emilia is Emily (Rain Phoenix), Desi's best friend and Hugo's girlfriend. Brabantio is Dean Brable (John Heard), the president of the school and Desi's father. The duke of Venice is the basketball coach, also known as Duke (Martin Sheen). Bianca (Rachel Schumate) is Brandy, Michael's love interest.
Plot
The film starts during a basketball game. At the last minute Odin scores the basket that wins the game for his team. Later at an awards ceremony Duke presents the MVP award to Odin for his efforts, an award he shares with Michael. At a party celebrating the victory, Hugo plans with Roger to tell Desi's father that Odin raped her in order to split them up so that Roger can woo her. Roger, however, is only a pawn in Hugo's ultimate plan to destroy Odin.
Later in another game Odin's team wins once again. At the celebration party, Hugo engineers a fight between Roger and a very drunk Michael, who is temporarily suspended from the team. Hugo tells Michael to ingratiate himself with Desi so that she will talk to Odin on his behalf. Soon afterward, Hugo tells Odin that Desi and Michael have been spending a lot of time together, and that she may be cheating on him. Odin doesn't believe this at first but, as he constantly sees Michael and Desi together, he starts to suspect them. Odin questions Desi, but she calms him down and he believes her. In the meantime, Hugo manipulates Emily into stealing a scarf for him that Odin had given to Desi. Hugo, in turn, gives it to Michael in hopes that Odin will believe that Desi gave Michael the scarf, and so is cheating on him.
Meanwhile, Desi and Odin are having passionate sex at a motel. During their lovemaking, Odin sees an image of Michael on top of Desi in the mirror; angered, he becomes very rough with Desi, to the point that she cries out for him to stop, a plea he ignores. Afterward, they lie together staring in opposite directions. At about this time Odin, a recovering cocaineaddict, starts using again to numb his fear of losing Desi.
After a volatile game in which Odin assaults a ball boy, Hugo tells Odin about the scarf, convincing him that Desi is cheating on him. Enraged, Odin vows to kill her; Hugo then promises to kill Michael.
Hugo, with Odin and Roger, plans to kill Michael and Desi. Hugo and Roger attempt to kill Michael in a carjacking, but it does not go as planned: Roger and Michael struggle, Hugo hits Michael with a crowbar, Roger shoots Michael in the leg, and then Hugo shoots Roger.
Odin and Desi are in a room talking and Odin is pretending to make up with her. Odin grabs Desi and throws her on the bed. Desi starts to scream for help, but Odin strangles her in a drug-induced rage. Emily rushes into the room and sees Desi's body; she soon finds out what Hugo has done. She rushes to the phone to call the police, but Hugo shoots and kills her. Odin finally realizes that Hugo has been manipulating him the entire time, and demands to know why; Hugo refuses to answer. When the police arrive, Odin tells them what happened, and commits suicide. The story ends with Hugo being taken into police custody, saying (in voice over) that he will have his day in the spotlight.
