O (2001)
Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, he has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and the Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son, is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.
O (2001)
Information
Released Year: 2001
Runtime: 95 minutes
Directors: Tim Blake Nelson
Casts: Josh Hartnett, Martin Sheen, Julia Stiles, Elden Henson, Mekhi Phifer, Andrew Keegan, John Heard, Chris Freihofer, Rain Phoenix, Rachel Shumate
IMDB: O (2001)
Storyline
Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, he has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and the Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son, is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.
Trailer
Reviews
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New York Post -
Exceptionally intelligent and powerful contemporary adaptation.
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Entertainment Weekly -
To an astonishing degree, O gets the tragic Shakespeare mood, that somber stentorian passion born of hidden slivers of ambition and betrayal.
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Los Angeles Times -
Essential to the success it manages is Hartnett's low-key, charismatic performance -- cool, withholding, compelling. The triumph of his insinuating Hugo/Iago is how plausible he is, how he manages to convincingly inject poison in so many minds without seeming to be trying.
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Miami Herald -
What O lacks is a sense of spontaneity: Despite its contemporary dialogue and manner, the movie can't overcome a nagging aura of artifice.
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Philadelphia Inquirer -
Stripped of its poetry, some of the devices of the tragedy of the Moor come off here as woefully contrived.
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Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, he has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and the Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son, is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.
Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, he has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and the Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son, is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.
Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, he has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and the Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son, is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.
Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, he has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and the Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son, is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.