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.
Comment
10/02/02
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
An unnecessary addition to the cannon of cinematic Shakespeare.
09/17/02
Top CriticThe presence of old lags Martin Sheen and John Heard just beggars belief. What were they thinking?
07/06/08
Top CriticHartnett 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 CriticThis is definitely worth watching, thanks to the performances and Nelson's direction.
10/30/02
The camera is subtle but insistent in how it views characters with darkness, pity and suspicion.
06/12/02
Credit, none the less, to the film-makers' game, unpatronising approach, and to Phifer and Stiles as compelling innocents.
01/26/06
Top CriticIt almost works but, because O did not go as far as it should, fails to capture the true drama of Shakespeare's tale of jealousy and fatal deception.
08/16/01
Very little seems to work, or matter, or make much sense.
08/31/01
This arty melodrama is not likely to make teenage America get down with Shakespeare.
03/31/08
A deft reimagining of a work of classic literature.
08/30/01
progressively fewer fragile uplifting beats, so if you like down films ... "O" is certain to take you there.
08/14/01
Supremely stylish and uncomfortably threatening.
08/31/01
The pathological envy, racism, fear and jealousy that drive Shakespeare's "Othello" make a scary sense in the world of modern teenagers.
08/30/01
An interesting experiment with some occasional moments of great power.
08/31/01
This intelligent, well-paced film rendition forgoes the Elizabethan verse, while capturing the disturbing essence and gripping plot of Shakespeare's classic tragedy.
08/31/01
The key to Othello is making the audience consider a guy who strangles his spouse out of jealousy to be a tragic figure. O doesn't accomplish that.
08/30/01
[A] stylish and faithful adaptation.
08/24/01
If the plot is largely Shakespearean, the most important nuances get lost along the way.
08/31/01
Latest News for O
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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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