Review of O (2001) by Jiana W — 23 Nov 2011

As a modern update of a Shakespearean play, "O" does not match its predecessor, Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" in terms of style or creativity. It's not as interesting, that's for sure. While "R+J" struggled with believability too (given its decision to keep the original language while set in modern times), I felt this one didn't translate nearly as well, even though every bit of it is "modern".

Othello is O, a black high school student who is the star player of his uptight boarding school's basketball team. (I won't delve into the obvious stereotypes of black people and basketball.) He is the only person of color in his whole school but everyone loves him. Coaches, his fellow students, basketball fans... he is like a demi-god to everybody at Palmetto Grove-- and it drives Hugo, the coach's son, insane. Fueled by pure envy and the need for somebody to pay attention to *him* just once, Hugo embarks on a deceitful journey to destroy O. He literally lies and steals to achieve his goals. His biggest lie comes in the form of telling O to keep an eye on his white girlfriend, Desi, because she may be cheating on him with O's best friend and fellow bballer, Michael. With as many people in that school who adore O, one would think he'd be sure to have all his basketball friends keep secret eyes on her for him to ensure that what Hugo is telling him is actually true. O, however, is really an idiot. No seriously, he is. Watch it, see how this all plays out, and come see me afterwards. You'll surely agree.

"O" isn't very good. With Shakespeare, you have to be careful. I think I agree that this story was perhaps too "big" for the young actors. I wasn't impressed by the cast in here in terms of the performances, although I do admit Josh Hartnett is convincingly conniving. When his plans go well, you can see the dark twinkle in his eye, although he never actually smiles. He doesn't have to. The sex scene in this movie, by the way, is disturbing and pretty strong. Stronger than the one in "Monster's Ball" (because for some reason, "O" shares a double-pack DVD with that film. I guess since they both deal with the drama that accompanies many interracial relationships....).

High school is certainly a bastion for drama like this (young love, betrayal, jealousy, lies, etc..) One would expect a Shakespeare tragedy to fit in well here but it doesn't. Nothing quite clicks. It also suffers from the fact that none of the characters are particularly likeable or sympathetic, not even the main character, O. It was a nice effort but ultimately it failed to make much an impact on me.