O (Othello)

Director: Tim Blake Nelson, Geoffrey Sax Tim Blake Nelson

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2021
UPC:	0191329202715
Original Release:	2001
Source:	Miramax
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mekhi Phifer	Odin `O' James
Josh Hartnett	Hugo Goulding
Julia Stiles	Desi Brable
Elden Henson	Roger Rodriguez
Andrew Keegan	Michael Casio
Rain Phoenix	Emily
John Heard	Dean Bob Brable
Anthony Johnson	Dell
Martin Sheen	Coach Duke `The Duke' Goulding
Chris Freihofer	Assistant Coach
Christopher Jones	Jason,Basketball Player (Bullsdogs)
Chris Dong	Dutchman Player
Ken French	Scout No. 1
Dana Ratliff	T.V. Announcer
Rachel Schumate	Brandy
Marshall Gitter	Radio Announcer
Lisa Benavides	Ms. Serney
Ronalda Stover	Woman Score Keeper
Kelvin O'Bryant	Ball Boy
Jack 'Jay' Munn	Lanny
Mike Flippo	Mr. Bradley
James Middleton	Cop
Zack David	Basketball Player (Hawks)
James Galloway	Basketball Player (Hawks)
Julie Fishell	Newscaster
Michael Givens	Basketball Player (Hawks)
Wally Welch	Mr. Kirby
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)
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
Jeff Danna	Composer

Technical Credits

Brad Kaaya

Tim Blake Nelson	Director
Brad Kaaya	Screenwriter
Ray Bivins	Special Effects
Daniel L. Fried	Producer
Eric Gitter	Producer
Cal Johnson	Stunts
Avy Kaufman	Casting
Michael I. Levy	Executive Producer
Anthony Rhulen	Producer
William Shively	Executive Producer
Geoffrey Sax	Director
Tom Myers	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

An audacious updating of Shakespeare’s Othello, this well-acted drama hews closely to the Bard’s themes while giving them a decidedly contemporary edge. Mekhi Phifer portrays Odin "O" Jones, the star basketball player and only African-American student at an elite private school, where he enjoys the respect of fellow classmates and the affection of the dean’s daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Hugo Goulding (Josh Hartnett), ostensibly O’s best friend, secretly envies him and plots to undermine him. Director Tim Blake Nelson (Kansas) uses high school sports as a metaphor for battle, in place of the bloody war Shakespeare employs as a background for the conflicts in Othello. Like the original work, this film vividly and tragically illustrates the corrosive effect of envy on a man’s soul. Made in 1998 but held back because of several high-profile outbreaks of school violence, O demonstrates just how timeless Shakespeare's fundamental themes remain. Stiles, who joins Nelson on the DVD commentary track, proves as nimble here as in an earlier Shakespearean update, her turn as Katarina in 10 Things I Hate About You -- an equally deft 1999 modernization of The Taming of the Shrew.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

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.

All Movie Guide - Jason Clark

One of year's most emotionally stirring. Mike Clark

USA Today