The presence of old lags Martin Sheen and John Heard just beggars belief. What were they thinking?
Comment
07/06/08
O (2001)
63
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:123
Fresh:78
Rotten:45
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: Though well-intentioned and serious in its exploration of teen violence, O is an uneven experiment that doesn't quite succeed.
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: A contemporary retelling of Othello, Shakespeare's timeless tale of treachery and jealousy, O will perhaps introduce a new audience to the genius of William Shakespeare and some of his most... [More]
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, John Heard
Director: Tim Blake Nelson
Reviews for O
Top CriticIt's highly enjoyable and well acted, with the Iago figure better motivated than in the original play, no single line of which has been retained except for the odd echo.
03/25/08
Hartnett never allows him to become a hissable villain, keeping Hugo shy of our sympathies, yet his every move is utterly believable.
12/30/06
Top CriticCredit, none the less, to the film-makers' game, unpatronising approach, and to Phifer and Stiles as compelling innocents.
01/26/06
Top CriticThis is definitely worth watching, thanks to the performances and Nelson's direction.
10/30/02
Perhaps overaware of its solemn literary inheritance, it tiptoes around sex and race, and, in turning Shakespeare's grown-ups into Dawson's Creek teens, jettisons much of the original's grandeur.
10/02/02
Top CriticAn unnecessary addition to the cannon of cinematic Shakespeare.
09/17/02
Top CriticThe camera is subtle but insistent in how it views characters with darkness, pity and suspicion.
06/12/02
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04/29/09
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11/19/08
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10/18/08
This arty melodrama is not likely to make teenage America get down with Shakespeare.
03/31/08
This transferral of the tragedy of the Moor to a contempo American high school is something that never should have gone further than a class assignment to see if it could be made to work.
03/25/08
Top CriticHelmer Nelson has fashioned a clever premise, helped along by a smart ensemble that manages to highlight Shakespeare's work without parodying it--no small accomplishment.
03/01/07
Long on the Shelf, O is well directed and decently acted, but its narrative, while more or less faithful to Shakespeare, tried to do too much, pushing the characters and their emotions to unreasonable and unconvincing extremes.
09/17/06
Leave it to Hollywood to make a bold, challenging film for teens (and adults) only to let it collect dust on a shelf as proposed release dates were set, then scratched, many times over.
01/09/06
A well crafted and thoughtful film.
01/09/06
There’s an air of authenticity to the proceedings here, and stylistic pretension never obscures good storytelling.
05/21/05
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02/24/04
Let the film stand on its own and not amiss controversy.
05/13/03
Latest News for O
July 21, 2008:
Brush Up On Your Shakespeare With Our List Of The Bard's Best Films
Friends, readers, Tomato-fans, lend me your ears. Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty, we at RT humbly present to you the Greatest Shakespeare Movies, a list of the Bard's... More...
June 28, 2006:
Bosworth and Bloom to Brave the Depression Together
Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth are two seriously photogenic young stars who've never worked together. That's about to change. The pair will co-star in a Depression-era drama... More...
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